LUNGevity Foundation announces Friends of Cancer Research Chairperson and Founder Ellen Sigal, PhD, and Executive Director Jeff Allen, PhD, as the September LUNGevity Heroes for the work they have done advocating for policies to improve health outcomes and cancer care and for forming important partnerships that have resulted in the creation of groundbreaking initiatives such as Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP).

Lung-MAP is a novel multi-drug, public and privately-collaborated, biomarker-based clinical trial for patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer.  The trial tests five experimental drugs on patients who are best matched to succeed with each treatment as determined by the results of pre-screening for genetic alterations.

By utilizing a groundbreaking approach to conducting clinical trials, Lung-MAP will streamline the process for all involved parties, speeding up research results for the scientific community, drug accessibility to patients, and successful drugs to market. The trial is an extraordinary contribution to the lung cancer community and the greater scientific research community.  

“This diverse, collaborative approach, with support from leading lung cancer advocacy organizations, helps to ensure that the needs of patients, clinicians, developers, and regulators are all considered in the design and operation of the trial,” said Dr. Ellen Sigal, Chair & Founder of Friends of Cancer Research.

Lung-MAP continues the tradition of Dr. Sigal and Dr. Allen’s advocacy in Friends of Cancer Research – using partnerships and open dialogue to help patients to access treatments safely and efficiently.

“Dr. Sigal and Dr. Allen have not only been able to show that there is a faster and more efficient way to achieve scientific progress, but also that the concepts ‘pro-business’ and ‘patient-centric’ are not mutually exclusive,” said Andrea Ferris, president and chairman of LUNGevity Foundation. “With the help of government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, advocacy groups, and other nonprofits, we can provide vital, life-extending treatments to those diagnosed with lung cancer. Through creative collaboration, our community has the potential to achieve remarkable progress.”

For more on Dr. Sigal and Dr. Allen, visit the LUNGevity Heroes Spotlight athttp://blog.lungevity.org.