Bristol-Myers Squibb was the recipient of the ‘Simply the Best’ award — the highest honor given by The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) to organizations and individuals working to improve cancer treatment, reduce patient morbidity, and advance research.
The award, presented at the ALCF’s Tenth Annual ‘Simply the Best’ Gala, in San Francisco, California, acknowledged the company’s commitment to each of those goals through its personalized and targeted therapies and its investment in key research.
“We have a long standing commitment to supporting the lung cancer community, collaborating to improve survival and maximizing research to advance breakthrough lung cancer therapies,” Teresa Bitetti, senior vice president of Oncology for Bristol-Myers, who accepted the award, said in a press release. “We are honored to continue to work with the ALCF to provide improved care for lung cancer patients.”
Said Bonnie J. Addario, the founder of the ALCF and an 11-year lung cancer survivor, “With its immuno-oncology research, Bristol-Myers Squibb revolutionized the approach to lung cancer treatment, ushering in a new and hopeful era. Lung cancer patients can now count on having a plan B in their back pocket when plan A stops working.”
Immuno-oncology is a novel approach using patients’ own immune system to fight tumors. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s research led to the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approval immuno-oncology drug treatment for previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a common lung cancer that accounts for more than 85 percent of all cases.
ALCF is one of the largest philanthropies devoted exclusively to eradicate lung cancer through research, early detection, treatment, and education. The patient-founded and -focused organization’s goal is to make lung cancer a chronically managed disease by 2023. Previous prize recipients have included cancer researchers, physicians, and clinicians.
“There is significant need for treatment options that benefit patients and Bristol-Myers Squibb is leading the way into a new and hopeful era for lung cancer patients,” Addario added. “Today we can truly say we are on a strong path towards making lung cancer a manageable chronic disease by 2023.”
