Nashville, Tenn. (August 27, 2020) – Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, and Lyell Immunopharma announced today a strategic collaboration for the advancement of oncology-focused immune-effector, or T-Cell, therapies. This partnership brings together Lyell’s research and development of cell-based immunotherapies and Sarah Cannon’s expertise in designing and optimizing clinical trials to expand treatment options and access for patients.
“We look forward to partnering with Lyell Immunopharma to accelerate development and access to innovative T-Cell therapies for patients who could potentially benefit from these treatment options,” said Howard A. “Skip” Burris, MD, President, Clinical Operations and Chief Medical Officer, Sarah Cannon. “By bringing together Lyell Immunopharma’s scientific expertise with Sarah Cannon’s experience and expansive network, we can pursue an innovative approach to bring these cutting-edge treatment options into the community more rapidly and affordably for patients.”
Sarah Cannon is one of the world’s leading clinical research organizations conducting community-based clinical trials throughout the United States and United Kingdom. Additionally, Sarah Cannon’s Blood Cancer Network is one of the largest providers of hematopoietic cell transplants, offering patients access to complex blood cancer care, including clinical trials and innovative therapies such as CAR T-Cell therapy.
Since 2015, Sarah Cannon has activated T-Cell therapy studies, which are overseen by immune cell therapy committees that advise on the coordination and standardization of research processes across centers for both blood cancer and solid tumor indications.
“Lyell is very excited to be partnered with Sarah Cannon,” said Tina Albertson, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Lyell. “This collaboration should result in the ability to more rapidly and efficiently initiate clinical trials and thus bring Lyell’s innovative cell therapy treatments to patients more quickly once trials are authorized to commence.”
Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. is a cellular therapy company dedicated to mastering immune cell functionality by focusing on advancing the science of T-Cell differentiation, functionality, and specificity to develop curative treatments.
T-Cell therapies have become an effective approach for treating many forms of blood cancers, with CAR T-Cell therapies currently approved in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), as well as hundreds of additional trials for both blood cancer and solid tumors.
“There are challenges in developing and providing access to the latest T-Cell therapies due to care fragmentation and related barriers for integrating these novel therapies into clinical settings,” said Fred LeMaistre, MD, Senior Vice President, Market Operations and Physician-in-Chief, Blood Cancers for Sarah Cannon. “By collaborating, Sarah Cannon and Lyell Immunopharma will work to create a more cohesive approach to introducing new T-Cell therapy standards of care into clinical practice, and developing strategies for these innovative therapies.”
Through Sarah Cannon Development Innovations, its full-service, oncology-focused contract research organization (CRO), Sarah Cannon will provide comprehensive clinical development services and operational delivery for the collaboration.
About Sarah Cannon
Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, offers integrated cancer services with convenient access to cutting-edge therapies for people facing cancer in communities across the United States and United Kingdom. Sarah Cannon’s cancer programs include individualized patient navigation provided by oncology-trained nurses, more than 1,200 transplants performed annually throughout the Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Network, hundreds of clinical trials, and molecular profiling capabilities. A leader in drug development, Sarah Cannon has led more than 400 first-in-human clinical trials since its inception in 1993, and has been a clinical trial leader in the majority of approved cancer therapies over the last 10 years. Additionally, Sarah Cannon offers management, regulatory, and other research support services for drug development and industry sponsors as well as strategic investigator sites through its contract research organization (CRO), Sarah Cannon Development Innovations. Through its services, Sarah Cannon is providing cancer care close to home for hundreds of thousands of patients, a number unmatched by any single cancer center. To learn more about Sarah Cannon, visit sarahcannon.com.
About Lyell Immunopharma
Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. is a cell therapy company dedicated to understanding and developing technologies to overcome fundamental barriers to curative cancer cell therapies. Lyell brings together an unrivaled scientific team with a collection of novel technologies focused on advancing the science of T-cell differentiation, functionality, and target specificity in order to develop curative treatments for solid tumors. These technologies can be used as a platform for multiple new cell therapies that can be applied across a broad range of cancers.
For more information on Lyell Immunopharma please visit www.lyell.com.