Finalists Announced for CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases 2020 Competition

CHICAGO - April 21, 2020 - PRLog -- Cures Within Reach, a leading global nonprofit focused on repurposing research as a fast track to impacting patients, is holding CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases, its unique philanthropic pitch competition, virtually on June 11, 2020.  The event is being held in partnership with Global Genes, who is working with UPenn Medicine Orphan Disease Center on the 2020 RARE Drug Development Symposium on June 11 – 12, 2020. More info on this event is at https://globalgenes.org/event/advocacy-symposium/.

Researchers and clinicians from 5 institutions from across the US will present their clinical repurposing research projects to community members representing pharma, biotech, academia, medicine, philanthropy and patient groups. The winning project will be selected by attendees to receive up to $50,000 in funding.

The 5 finalists invited to present their clinical trial projects are:

• Angela Fleischman, MD, PhD from University of California, Irvine presenting "Repurposing a Nutraceutical in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms to Improve Disease Markers and Symptoms"
• Susanna Park, MD, PhD from University of California, Davis presenting "Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy for Vision Loss"
• Tycel Phillips, MD from University of Michigan presenting "Repurposing Venetoclax to Improve Patient Response in Mantle Cell Lymphoma"
• Kathleen Sakamoto, MD, PhD from Stanford University presenting "Niclosamide for the Treatment of Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia"
• Alix Seif, MD, MPH from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presenting "Preventing Relapse After Bone Marrow Transplant in a Rare Pediatric Leukemia with a Combination Treatment"

"With the dozens of ongoing clinical trials testing repurposed drugs as possible treatments for COVID19 patients, it is clear that repurposing research is an important strategy to fast-track treatments to patients," said Clare Thibodeaux, PhD, Director of Scientific Affairs at Cures Within Reach. "This comes as no surprise to the rare disease community, where existing science and medicine has been leveraged for years to address unmet medical needs. Our 5 finalists are dedicated to helping rare disease patients through clinical repurposing trials, and we are proud to showcase their innovative ideas on June 11."

Registration for the virtual RARE Drug Development Symposium will open in late April.  For more information, agenda and registration, visit: https://globalgenes.org/event/advocacy-symposium/.  For more information on these finalists and the CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Disease competition, visit https://bit.ly/cwrcalrare2020.

Funding for the winning rare diseases project is supported by the Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships; additional support for the 2020 CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases event is from industry partners Horizon Therapeutics and Recordati Rare Diseases, as well as from the Judy Hirsch Foundation.

The 2020 CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases event will be 6^th time holding this philanthropic pitch competition.  In addition to Rare Diseases, past event themes have included Oncology, Chicago, the Mid-Atlantic and the Developing World.  Information on the previous winning clinical repurposing projects are at: https://www.cureswithinreach.org/research/current-research.

About Cures Within Reach (http://www.cureswithinreach.org/)
Cures Within Reach (CWR) is a US-based philanthropic leader that improves patient quality and length of life by leveraging the speed, safety and cost-effectiveness of medical repurposing research, driving more treatments to more patients more quickly. CWR catalyzes research to facilitate and validate repurposing opportunities that create clinical impact. Through repurposing, CWR drives both market impact and health savings to patients and patient groups, from academia/researchers, with payers and the healthcare industry and with support from the government, philanthropy and others.

CWR currently has a global portfolio of 21 repurposing research projects at 18 institutions in 15 diseases. Visit cureswithinreach.org (http://www.cureswithinreach.org/) or follow CWR via Twitter @CuresWReach, LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com/company/cures-within-reach), YouTube (YouTube.com/cureswithinreach) or Facebook (Facebook.com/CuresWithinReach).

About Global Genes
Founded in 2008, Global Genes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects, empowers and inspires the rare disease community, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the burdens of rare disease for patients and families everywhere. We provide hope for the more than 350 million people affected by rare disease around the globe. We fulfill our mission by helping patients find and build communities, gain access to information and resources, connect to researchers, clinicians, industry, government and other stakeholders, share data and experiences, and stand up, stand out and become effective advocates on their own behalf. If you or someone you love have a rare disease or are searching for a diagnosis, contact Global Genes (https://globalgenes.org/) at 949-248-RARE or visit the resource hub at Globalgenes.org.