The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Inc

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THE MULTIPLE MYELOMA RESEARCH FOUNDATION (MMRF) SUPPORTS INVESTIGATORS AND SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS THROUGH A NUMBER OF RESEARCH GRANTS. THE GOAL OF THIS INITIATIVE IS TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES FOR MYELOMA THROUGH OUR UNIQUE END-TO-END MODEL THAT SUPPORTS EFFORTS IN BASIC SCIENCE OR TRANSLATION RESEARCH.IN 2021, THE MMRF CONTINUED TO BUILD OUT THE MMRF IMMUNE ATLAS INITIATIVE ("THE ATLAS"), AN IMMUNE PROFILING AND ANALYTICS PLATFORM USING DATA AND SAMPLES FROM THE COMMPASS STUDY TO GENERATE DATA ON THE ROLE OF PATIENT IMMUNITY IN MYELOMA DISEASE BIOLOGY AND RESPONSE TO THERAPY, AND TO SUPPORT AND SPEED EFFORTS TO MAKE IMMUNOTHERAPY MORE PRECISE TO LEVERAGE IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA. THE IMMUNE ATLAS WILL DESCRIBE THE IMMUNE LANDSCAPE IN MYELOMA AND HOW IT CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE DISEASEAND TREATMENT. THIS EFFORT IS A CRITICAL FIRST STEP TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS AND ALIGNMENT ON HOW IMMUNE DATA IS PRODUCED, PRIORITIZED, AGGREGATED, AND SHARED. AT SCALE, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY NEW IMMUNOLOGIC FACTORS PREDICTIVE OF PATIENT RESPONSE OR RELAPSE TO THERAPY, TO IDENTIFY NEW IMMUNE TARGETS FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND, EVENTUALLY, ENABLE CLINICIANS TO CUSTOMIZE TREATMENTS AND THERAPIES BASED ON AN INDIVIDUAL'S IMMUNE SYSTEM.IN JULY 2020, THE MMRF LAUNCHED THE MMRF CURECLOUD ("CURECLOUD"), A DIRECT-TO-PATIENT REGISTRY THAT OFFERS PATIENTS THE FIRST AT-HOME GENOMIC TESTING PROGRAM AND THE RETURN OF A CLINICAL GRADE REPORT THAT CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY TREATMENTS AND TRIALS THAT MAY BE RIGHT FOR THEIR CARE. THE AGGREGATED CURECLOUD DATA WILL ALSO BE USED TO DRIVE NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES FOR RESEARCHERS THAT WILL GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TREATMENTS AND CARE PATHWAYS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR ALL PATIENTS. THE MMRF PLANS TO RECRUIT 5,000 PATIENTS WITH SMOLDERING AND ACTIVE MULTIPLE MYELOMA, WITH 890 PATIENTS ENROLLED BY THE END OF 2021.

A KEY COMPONENT OF OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS HAS BEEN OUR ABILITY TO PARTNER WITH OUR NETWORK OF LEADING ACADEMIC MYELOMA CENTERS THROUGH THE MMRC (MULTIPLE MYELOMA RESEARCH CONSORTIUM). THE MMRC IS A NETWORK OF 21 LEADING CANCER CENTERS AND ADDRESSES THREE CRITICAL AREAS OF UNMET NEED: HIGH-RISK SMOLDERING MYELOMA, HIGH-RISK UPFRONT TREATMENT FOR SYMPTOMATIC MULTIPLE MYELOMA, AND RELAPSED/REFRACTORY TREATMENT AFTER ANTI-CD38 AND BCMA-DIRECTED THERAPIES.

THE MMRF-SPONSORED COMMPASS STUDY COMMENCED IN 2011, AND 1,150 NEWLY DIAGNOSED, UNTREATED PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE MULTIPLE MYELOMA FROM 76 SITES (I.E., HOSPITALS, ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS) IN FOUR COUNTRIES HAD BEEN ENROLLED BY 2015, AT WHICH TIME THE STUDY WAS CLOSED TO NEW PATIENT RECRUITMENT. PATIENTS ARE FOLLOWED FOR EIGHT YEARS THROUGH 2023. NO EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENTS ARE TESTED IN THE STUDY; RATHER, PATIENTS ARE PRESCRIBED STANDARD OF CARE AGENTS BY THEIR PHYSICIAN, AND BLOOD AND BONE MARROW SAMPLES ARE TAKEN FROM THE PATIENTS WHEN THERE IS A CHANGE IN THEIR DISEASE STATUS. THE TISSUE SAMPLES COLLECTED ARE PLACED IN A BIOBANK. AN UNRELATED, THIRD PARTY, NOT-FOR-PROFIT BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE THEN PERFORMS LABORATORY TESTS ON A PORTION OF EACH OF THE SAMPLES RESULTING IN GENOMIC DATA ABOUT EACH PATIENT. THE MMRF LAUNCHED A SIMILAR SAMPLE/DATA SHARING COLLABORATION WITH EASTERN COOPERATIVE ONCOLOGY GROUP (THE "ECOG"). THE FINDINGS CANNOT BE PATENTED, AND ALL THE DATA ARE PLACED ON A PUBLIC PORTAL (THE MMRF RESEARCHER GATEWAY). THE RESULTING DATA REPOSITORY IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE CATALOG OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA AND CONTAINS THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING DATA OF ANY CANCER, ACCESSIBLE TO ANY RESEARCHER IN THE WORLD. IT WILL PROVIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION THAN IS AVAILABLE FROM CURRENT CANCER TISSUE BANKS THAT TYPICALLY INCLUDE ONLY ONE SAMPLE PER PATIENT.

IN ADDITION TO THE PROGRAM EXPENSES DESCRIBED ABOVE, CORRESPONDING ACTIVITIES IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE OVERALL GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION ARE ALSO SUPPORTED. THESE INCLUDE A PORTFOLIO OF CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH PROGRAMS IN BASIC SCIENCE, WHICH IDENTIFIES NEW TARGETS THROUGH GENOMICS AND PROTEOMICS RESEARCH; VALIDATION STUDIES, WHICH IDENTIFY NEW COMPOUNDS AND COMBINATIONS IN RESEARCH MODELS BASED ON HIGH-PRIORITY TARGETS; AND INNOVATIVE CLINICAL TRIALS OF NOVEL AND COMBINATION TREATMENTS. AS A PATIENT-FOUNDED ORGANIZATION, THE MMRF STANDS TOGETHER WITH THOSE WHO ARE BATTLING MULTIPLE MYELOMA - PATIENTS, FAMILIES, PHYSICIANS, RESEARCHERS, AND INVESTORS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE MMRF STANDS APART WITH ITS INNOVATIVE APPROACH. THE MMRF GENERATES, INTERPRETS, AND ACTIVATES THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF HIGH-QUALITY DATA AND PLACES IT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. THE MMRF ORCHESTRATES THE PEOPLE, PROGRAMS, AND TECHNOLOGIES NECESSARY TO SPEED THE DISCOVERY OF A CURE.