NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding breast cancer research and education, has awarded $60 million in grants to US and international researchers, including nearly $19 million to fund research into pharmacogenomics.
The funding for the pharmacogenomic research is provided through the organization's Promise Grants.
Komen, along with the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, has awarded $6.4 million to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study adding a new drug, along with chemotherapy in treating triple negative breast cancer. That research project includes looking for ways to predict which therapies will be most effective for triple negative breast cancer patients.
Indiana University will receive a $5.8 million Promise Grant to identify biomarkers to predict which breast cancer patients will benefit from the drug bevacizumab (Avastin), and which patients will suffer significant side effects from use of the drug.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia will use a $6.7 million Promise Grant to find biomarkers to predict treatment response and match patients with the best treatment option.