Blood cancer continues to be a devastating disease, requiring ongoing research and support to advance treatments and improve access to care. Philanthropy plays a key role in driving innovation and expanding access, especially for underserved communities. In a recent interview, Lore Gruenbaum, VP of Research for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Therapy Acceleration Program (LLS TAP), discussed with Muhammad Younis how philanthropic efforts can bridge the gap between research and clinical application. She highlighted promising areas for future investment, strategies to improve treatment access, and the potential of innovations like gene editing and immunotherapy to transform care.

#LBS: How can philanthropic support be strategically leveraged to bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and clinical application in blood cancer therapies? What role does philanthropy play in shaping the R&D landscape, and how can it be optimized for maximum impact? 

Lore Gruenbaum: Venture philanthropy initiatives such as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Therapy  Acceleration Program (LLS TAP) can facilitate and accelerate the translation of basic research into  drug development and ultimately new therapies that benefit all patients with blood cancer. 

This can be particularly impactful for rare diseases, like blood cancer, that may not be  commercially attractive for pharmaceutical companies and biotech investors.  

LLS provides financial support to many different stakeholders including emerging biotech  companies and university spin-offs through a range of funding mechanisms from research grants to equity investments.  

Programs such as TAP, that have a specific disease focus, typically bring more than just capital to  the table: many are embedded in larger nonprofit organizations such as LLS and benefit from close interactions with basic researchers and clinicians through research grant programs or clinical trial  collaborations. Some also provide a direct connection to patients and their experience. 

A clear definition of the philanthropic goals and their translation into a concrete, actionable  strategy is essential for the success of such venture philanthropy programs. This may include a  regular assessment of the unmet medical need, treatment gaps and drug development landscape  and a clear definition of the value proposition that a philanthropic program can provide to  companies.  

Leadership and staff on the program with appropriate professional experience and training and  access to a broad network of scientific, clinical and drug development experts will maximize the  program's impact. 

#LBS: Considering The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program’s past contributions, what are the most promising areas for future investment? How do you foresee these contributions evolving to address emerging challenges in blood cancer research? 

Lore Gruenbaum: LLS’s TAP program is focused on advancing innovative therapeutic platforms and drug  candidates that have the potential to change the standard of care for blood cancer patients. 

Despite a slew of FDA approvals in recent years, many blood cancer patients still do not achieve  cures. Outcomes are also dismal for some patients with advanced disease.  

Our past support for novel therapies such as CAR-T therapy has significantly changed outcomes for  many patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and many types of B-cell lymphomas. We are  looking to bring similar improvements to additional blood cancers such as T-cell lymphomas/ leukemias and acute myeloid leukemia that urgently need better therapies. On the TAP team, we  consider all drug modalities and are particularly interested in novel approaches that have broad  potential across many diseases and address newly emerging patient populations such as those  whose disease returns after treatment with CAR-T or bispecific antibody therapies. 

We can help companies carefully evaluate which indications and patient populations are most  likely to benefit from a particular novel approach. Our broad experience across many drug  development programs enables us to work closely with companies on the development of a rapid  and scientifically sound clinical strategy.  

#LBS: What innovative approaches are being explored to ensure that new blood cancer treatments are accessible to all patients, particularly those in underserved or low-income communities? How can we address disparities in treatment availability and affordability? 

Lore Gruenbaum: Equal access to treatment is a complex and multifaceted issue. At The Leukemia & Lymphoma  Society we address this issue from many angles.  

For our TAP program, we consider factors such as the potential cost of a therapy and whether it can  be potentially delivered by a community oncologist and ideally taken by a patient orally at home.  

LLS has an IMPACT grant program, which specifically focuses on expanding patient access to high quality clinical trials in community health settings, with particular emphasis on rural, minority,  and/or economically disadvantaged blood cancer patients. 

We also have a Clinical Trial Support Center, which works with patients one-on-one and at no cost  to the patient to identify appropriate clinical trial options for their cancer. We have a wide range of  educational resources and programs that we deploy at the community level. For example, our First  

Connection Program provides newly diagnosed patients with valuable peer-to-peer support linking  them with trained volunteers who have experienced blood cancer firsthand and understand a newly  diagnosed patient’s experience. 

There are also several financial assistance programs to help patients with the enormous cost of  their cancer care from insurance premiums and co-pay to non-medical expenses such as  transportation to medical centers, lodging near such centers, child/elder care and more. 

#LBS: How do you evaluate the potential impact of emerging research trends, such as gene editing and immunotherapy, on the development of new blood cancer treatments? What are the key factors that will determine their success in transforming patient care?

Lore Gruenbaum: We have several TAP partner companies focused on novel technologies and platforms including  gene editing and immunotherapies such as cell therapies and therapeutic vaccines. Their impact  will ultimately be determined in the ongoing clinical trials where their safety, tolerability and  efficacy in patients will be evaluated. 

A key piece in the successful implementation of novel therapies will be the education of  oncologists on these new therapies. For example, therapies such as CAR-T require the manufacture  of the therapeutic agent from the patient’s own T-cells: this is a complex multi-step process that  typically takes several weeks.  

In the meantime, a treating oncologist must manage a patient’s disease and prepare the patient for  the infusion of the CAR-T product. Novel therapies may also come with unfamiliar side effects that  require different management strategies than have been deployed with traditional chemotherapies.  

CAR-T therapy is again a case in point: physicians had to learn to recognize and manage side effects  such as Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity. It is extremely important that  clinician-researchers at large academic centers share their experience with community oncologists so that the use of these novel therapies can be expanded successfully beyond large centers. 

And finally, companies need to thoroughly evaluate clinical trials and real-world outcomes and  patient experiences to continuously refine the applications of new technologies to maximize the  benefit to patients in the real world.