Boehringer Ingelheim to Sponsor the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation's Efforts to Promote Genetic Biomarker Testing

Genetic biomarker testing at non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis helps inform a personalized treatment approach

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Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

Nov 07, 2013, 08:00 ET

SAN CARLOS, Calif. and RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BI) today announced that BI will sponsor ALCF's efforts to raise awareness about the importance of immediate genetic biomarker testing for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

"This sponsorship is important because of how critical genetic biomarker testing is for an accurate diagnosis and for helping to match each patient with the most appropriate therapy as early as possible," said Bonnie J. Addario, founder of the ALCF and a stage 3B lung cancer survivor. "This testing sets the stage for a new personalized standard of care with the goal of improving outcomes for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer."

ALCF will honor BI at its Annual Gala in San Francisco on November 9 with the prestigious "Simply the Best" award recognizing BI's contributions to the lung cancer community. Specifically, BI has for nearly two years led an initiative called Let's Test to increase awareness of biomarker testing in advanced NSCLC. Let's Test provides relevant information and educational resources to healthcare providers with the goal of helping to improve patient outcomes. The initiative also outlines how the diagnosis and treatment of advanced NSCLC has evolved, as well as the multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers that are involved in the process.

"Boehringer Ingelheim is honored to be supporting the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation to help communicate the importance of immediate biomarker testing for patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer," said Kevin Lokay, vice president and business unit head, Oncology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "It's about a more detailed diagnosis as early as possible to help physicians more immediately match each patient with the most appropriate course of treatment."

The sponsorship from BI to promote genetic biomarker testing in advanced NSCLC also complements ALCF's Patient 360 Community Hospital Program that aims to create a new standard of care for lung cancer patients in the community hospital setting. One of the requirements of the ALCF's Patient 360 Community Hospital Program is administering genetic biomarker testing for all patients in the Program.

While the understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer has improved, there is additional work to be done. In 2013 alone, more than 228,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S., and the American Cancer Society estimates nearly 160,000 Americans will die of the disease.¹

The facts about lung cancer cannot continue to go unnoticed:

Lung cancer takes more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined and it accounts for 27 percent of all cancer deaths.¹ It is the second leading cause of all deaths in the U.S. ²
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in every ethnic group² and since 1987 has killed more women every year than breast cancer.³
The five-year survival rate for lung cancer has changed little in nearly 40 years – from 12 percent in 1970 to 17 percent today.⁴
NSCLC is the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for about 85 percent of all diagnoses.⁵

This staggering loss of life has gone unnoticed too long, and the ALCF is on a mission to change the statistics. The ALCF funds clinical research that may lead to potentially life-saving discoveries and treatments and provides critical support services and educational programs to empower patients, power progress and create hope.

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, education, early detection, genetic testing, drug discovery and patient-focused outcomes. The Foundation works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change. BJALCF was established on March 1, 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised more than $10 million for lung cancer research. In 2008, the Foundation also created a sister organization, the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), an international research consortium. To learn more, please visit www.lungcancerfoundation.org.

About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation (Ridgefield, CT) and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.

Building on scientific expertise and excellence in the fields of pulmonary and cardiovascular medicine, metabolic disease, neurology, virology and immunology, Boehringer Ingelheim has embarked on a major research program to discover and develop innovative cancer treatments. Working in close collaboration with the international scientific community and a number of the world's leading cancer centers, Boehringer Ingelheim's commitment to oncology is underpinned by using advances in science to develop a range of targeted therapies for various solid tumors and hematological cancers. The current focus of late-stage research includes compounds in three areas: signal transduction inhibition, angiogenesis inhibition and cell-cycle kinase inhibition. The company is also evaluating a robust and growing pipeline of early-stage oncology compounds in areas including growth/survival signaling, immunotherapy and epigenetics.

For information about participating in a Boehringer Ingelheim clinical trial, please visit www.bicancertrials.com or call 1.866.725.7110. Healthcare providers interested in learning more about Boehringer Ingelheim clinical trials in oncology can visit www.inoncologyus.com for additional information.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

¹American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer Facts & Figures 2013. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-036845.pdf. Last Accessed: October 14, 2013.
² Lung Cancer Alliance. 2012 Lung Cancer Facts. Available at: http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/lung-cancer/resources/facts-figures/lung-cancer-fact-sheet.html#1. Last Accessed: October 14, 2013.
³ American Lung Association. Lung Cancer Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/lung-cancer/resources/facts-figures/lung-cancer-fact-sheet.html. Last Accessed: October 14, 2013.
⁴ National Cancer Institute. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Fast Facts. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/faststats/selections.php?#Output. Last Accessed: October 17, 2013.
⁵American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer (Non-Small Cell). Available at: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lungcancer-non-smallcell/detailedguide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-key-statistics. Last Accessed: October 14, 2013.