Partnering to provide more hope to blood cancer patients

Prof Miles Prince AM was devastated when back in 2018, his patient Tom Long had to embark on a journey to Seattle USA in order to receive chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy via a clinical trial.  He knew that while Australia had the clinical expertise to administer CAR T-cell therapy, we did not have the capacity to meet the future demand for this promising new therapy.  To prepare for the future and ensure Australian blood cancer patients could access next generation treatments, Snowdome committed its second largest granting project.

The Snowdome Foundation is proud to partner with Epworth Medical Foundation to launch the Epworth Centre for Immunotherapies & Snowdome Laboratories, supporting blood cancer patients at Epworth to gain access to the very best possible care, guided by innovative treatments and technology.

One of the most revolutionary advances in medical science in recent years has been the use of cell therapy to treat blood cancers. The Snowdome Foundation and our generous donors are passionate about ensuring chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy is available for as many Australian patients as possible.  We are delighted to partner with the Epworth Medical Foundation to help the Epworth establish a cellular therapies service to commence CAR-T cell therapy for cancer patients.

Snowdome Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Kirstee Macbeth, reflects that blood cancer doesn’t discriminate. “Men, women and children are all affected equally. And unlike other cancers, routine screening and public health awareness campaigns won’t reduce anyone’s risk of developing blood cancer.”

“With blood cancer diagnosis rising, there is an even more urgent need to seek a greater understanding of blood cancers and find new treatments and cures.”

“We’re proud to partner with Snowdome Foundation,” says Scott Bulger, Executive Director of Epworth Medical Foundation.

“Snowdome Foundation shares Epworth’s vision to give hope to every blood cancer patient, and together, we hope to find a cure and change the face of cancer treatment forever.”

It is thanks to the generosity of Snowdome that Epworth is launching a dedicated Cellular Therapies Service that will offer more patients access to ground-breaking clinical trials and curative treatments to provide hope to more patients than ever before.

The first step in establishing the Cellular Therapies service is building a world-class laboratory.

“The process of collecting, creating and storing life-saving CAR T-cells requires a dedicated laboratory equipped with highly specialised equipment,” says Dr Costas Yannakou, Deputy Medical Director of the Department of Molecular Oncology and Cancer Immunology.

“Soon, we will have a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to provide a Cellular Therapies Service that will enable Epworth to treat more cancer patients with revolutionary CART-cell therapies and save more lives.”