LOS ANGELES – September 10, 2019 — Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) congratulates Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, leader of the SU2C Breast Cancer Dream Team, on receiving the 2019 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his development of Herceptin, a targeted treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer.

“Dennis Slamon is a pioneer in developing one of the first targeted cancer treatments,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, chairman of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee. “Stand Up To Cancer has been proud to support his continued lifesaving work in the field of breast cancer as a leader of one of our inaugural Dream Teams of outstanding researchers. We congratulate him on this wonderful recognition.”

Slamon shares the Award with H. Michael Shepard, PhD, and Axel Ullrich, PhD for their work leading to the creation of Herceptin, the first monoclonal antibody therapy that targets a protein encoded by an oncogene. Herceptin was approved by the FDA in 1998.

“Beyond developing this early targeted therapy, the impact of Dr. Slamon’s work is significant,” commented SU2C President and CEO Sung Poblete, PhD, RN. “His research demonstrated that a combination therapy – in this case Herceptin coupled with chemotherapy – can slow cancer progression and extend survival for HER2-positive breast cancer patients.”

This aggressive type of breast cancer affects more than 50,000 women in the United States every year. Over 2.3 million individuals have been treated with Herceptin to date.

Slamon is director of Clinical/Translational Research, and director of the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program at Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. Stand Up To Cancer is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which supported Dr. Slamon’s work in advancing Herceptin. In 2009, Slamon, in collaboration with co-leader with Joe W. Gray, PhD (Oregon Health & Science University) was awarded a $16.5 Million SU2C Breast Cancer Dream Team grant to investigate subtypes of breast cancer with the hope of developing novel therapies. In February 2015 the FDA granted accelerated approval of palbociclib to treat advanced ER+ breast cancer after the SU2C Breast Cancer Dream Team showed dramatically increased survival in women taking it.

About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by entertainment and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. A Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, and Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, serves as SU2C’s president and CEO.

For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit StandUpToCancer.org.

Media Contact:
Jane E Rubinstein, Sr. VP Communications jrubinstein@su2c.org, 646-386-7969