Friday, May 12, 2023 | 2pm PDT (5pm EDT) 60 min

The National Cancer Institute’s website explains targeted therapies as a type of cancer treatment that targets proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. It is the foundation of precision medicine. As researchers learn more about the DNA changes and proteins that drive cancer, they are better able to design treatments that target these proteins. The purpose of this webinar is to provide an overview of current research of targeted therapies as demonstrated by the efforts of Endeavor BioMedicines and EndBrainCancer.

At the end of the webinar, the featured speakers will open the floor for questions and answers as well as an interactive discussion on clinical trial perception and barriers. Oncology nurses and nurse/patient navigators might especially find this webinar useful, with tools and resources to best help their current and future patients.

Register today to learn more about advances in precision medicine, NGS testing and breaking barriers with clinical trials.

Speakers

John Hood, Co-founder and CEO, Endeavor BioMedicines

John Hood, Co-founder and CEO of Endeavor BioMedicines. Prior to Endeavor, Dr. Hood was the co-founder and CEO of Impact Biomedicines, which was acquired by Celgene Corporation for $7 billion in 2018. Prior to Impact, he was the Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Samumed LLC., a pharmaceutical company focused on advancing regenerative medicine and oncology therapies. Prior to that, Dr. Hood was Director of Research and co-inventor of fedratinib at TargeGen (subsequently acquired by Sanofi S.A.) where he led a team identifying small molecule kinase inhibitors for the treatment of eye diseases and cancer. He is an inventor on 100+ patents and author on 50+ scientific articles. Dr. Hood obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Physiology and B.S. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University.

Anita DiFrancesco, VP Clinical Operations, Endeavor BioMedicines

Ms. Anita DiFrancesco has over 25 years of industry experience; primarily with small to mid-size biotech companies. She has designed and managed numerous clinical trials from Phase 1 to Phase 3 in therapeutic areas including oncology, pulmonology, musculoskeletal and pain. Ms. DiFrancesco has built teams and clinical departments from inception to fully functional independent internal teams. Prior to joining Endeavor, Anita was the Vice President of Clinical Operations for Samumed, LLC, where she was responsible for the management and leadership of the Clinical Operations department. Prior to that she worked at Huya Bioscience, Cypress Bioscience and Chiron Corporation. She received her BS from Georgetown University.

Dellann Elliott Mydland, Patient Advocate and Business Leader, EndBrainCancer

Due to her personal experience with brain cancer, Dellann has worked tirelessly on behalf of cancer & brain tumor patients, caregivers and their families for over 20 years since co-founding the Chris Elliott Fund, now doing business as the EndBrainCancer Initiative (EBCI). Dellann is, at once, a patient advocate, entrepreneur, educator, mentor, visionary, and creator of a unique “Customer Support Type of Advocacy/Disease Education, Awareness & Outreach Program/Service” & the “Direct Connect” Referral Program/Service model, that other Advocacy organizations have and are now replicating which has an emphasis on 1:1 personalized delivery of disease education, and “direct connect” via text/email and phone connections to specialists,2nd options and clinical trial access. This model benefits patients and their families while also benefiting the research community alike, in that it directly connects newly diagnosed, recurrent and metastatic brain cancer patients across the country with top brain tumor neurosurgeons, neurooncologists, radiation oncologists, principal investigators/researchers, genomic & molecular profiling (Next Generation Sequencing), advanced treatments, clinical trials, targeted treatments, immunology/vaccines, and personalized medicine. This approach ultimately creates greater Quality of Life for the patient, increases research data, increases treatment options and improves Standard of Care (SOC) for all, therefore, improving survivorship.

Who Should Attend?

• Nurse Navigators
• Patient Advocate Trial Navigators
• Oncologist
• Oncology Nurses
• Oncology Patients
• Residential Oncologists
• Patient Advocates

What You Will Learn

Attendees will gain insights into:

• The definition of targeted therapies and how they differ from traditional therapies
• Current research in targeted therapies as demonstrated by sponsor compounds
• Clinical trials in targeted therapies
• Patient advocacy resources
• Clinical trial/patient resources
• Advancements in NGS testing