NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, the The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) announced that advances resulting from its investments in immunotherapy, clinical trials, and in prevention will be presented at the 62^nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. Held virtually this year, ASH will feature 32 presentations describing MMRF-supported programs to benefit patients.

These programs include the development of novel non-invasive diagnostic tests, uncovering of novel biology through the development of new immune profiling pipelines, and discovery of markers of drug resistance and disease progression. Twenty-five presentations include data from the CoMMpass Study^SM, one of the largest genomic datasets of any cancer and the source of more than 100 myeloma scientific publications.

“The research presented at ASH exemplifies the MMRF’s commitment to driving discoveries that benefit the entire myeloma community,” said Dr. Hearn Jay Cho, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of the MMRF. “Through our research and clinical portfolios, the MMRF is accelerating breakthroughs in immune therapies, diagnostics and prevention that have the power to save lives. This investment includes developing and improving access to better and more precise therapies for those living with myeloma, as we move ever closer to achieving our mission of a cure for every patient.”

MMRF ASH highlights include:

• 3 abstracts describing results from Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) clinical studies (#1397, 2241, 3231)
• The first detailed report (#1327) on the development of the next generation liquid biopsy used in the first-in-kind, at-home genomic sequencing test as part of the MMRF CureCloud ^® patient registry effort
• 4 oral presentations of novel insights on genomic risk assessment and drug resistance in myeloma using the CoMMpass dataset:
  • The impact of MRD negativity on progression free survival of patients enrolled in Forte/CoMMpass (#491)
  • Novel epigenetic changes involved in disease progression and drug resistance (#59)
  • Defining the impact of chromosomal abnormalities to help identify markers that may enhance personalized treatments (#60)
  • Discovery of markers that may help predict resistance to standard Velcade-based induction therapy (#727)
• 4 abstracts (#1322, 1357, 2266, 3163) that describe cutting-edge analyses from the MMRF Immune Profiling Research Network, a collaborative effort with 5 leading academic medical centers (Beth Israel Deaconess, Washington University St. Louis, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Emory University, and Mayo Clinic). The goal is to map the immune landscape of myeloma and bring much needed standards to the field to drive more precise immunotherapy treatments, using patient samples from the CoMMpass Study (https://themmrf.org/finding-a-cure/our-work/immunotherapy/)
• 2 oral presentations on discovery of markers found in myeloma cells (#602) and in the tumor microenvironment (#485) that may help predict progression from myeloma precursor conditions to active myeloma, work supported by the Perelman Family Foundation and the MMRF Prevention Project (https://themmrf.org/finding-a-cure/our-work/the-mmrf-prevention-project/)

For complete data on MMRF and MMRC abstracts being presented at the 62^nd ASH Annual Meeting please contact Mary DeRome at deromem@themmrf.org.

About the MMRF CoMMpass Study^SM
The MMRF CoMMpass Study is a longitudinal study of patients with newly diagnosed active multiple myeloma. The goal is to map the genomic profile of each patient to clinical outcomes to develop a more complete understanding of patient responses to treatments. A cornerstone of the MMRF’s Personalized Medicine Initiative, the study is collecting and analyzing tissue samples, clinical data and genetic information from 1,000 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients for at least eight years. The CoMMpass Study was made possible by a $40M investment by the MMRF.

The MMRF CoMMpass Study opened in July of 2011 and now includes 1,150 patients from 76 sites in the United States, Canada and European Union. Data from the MMRF CoMMpass Study is made available to researchers via the MMRF’s Researcher Gateway (http://research.themmrf.org), an online, open-access portal designed to make key genomic and clinical data available for additional study. The MMRF CoMMpass Study is being supported through a public-private partnership of patient donors and industry partners, including Takeda Oncology, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Janssen Diagnostics. Additional collaborating research partners include the Translational Genomics Research Institute, Van Andel Research Institute and GNS Healthcare. Please visit www.themmrf.org/research-partners/the-commpass-study to learn more about the study.

About the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
A pioneer in precision medicine, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) seeks to find a cure for all multiple myeloma patients by relentlessly pursuing innovations that accelerate the development of precision treatments for cancer. Founded in 1998 by Kathy Giusti, a multiple myeloma patient, and her twin sister Karen Andrews as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the MMRF has created the business model around cancer—from data to analytics to the clinic. The MMRF identifies barriers and then finds the solutions to overcome them, bringing in the best partners and aligning incentives in the industry to drive better outcomes for patients. Since its inception, the organization has collected thousands of samples and tissues, opened nearly 100 trials, helped bring 13 FDA-approved therapies to market, and built CoMMpass, the single largest genomic dataset for any cancer. Today, the MMRF is building on its legacy in genomics and is expanding into immunotherapy, as the combination of these two fields will be critical to making precision medicine possible for all patients. The MMRF has raised nearly $500 million and directs nearly 90% of the total funds to research and related programs. To learn more, visit www.themmrf.org.

About the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC)
The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) is a 509 (a) (3) non-profit organization that integrates leading academic institutions to accelerate drug development in multiple myeloma. It is led from the MMRC offices in Norwalk, Conn., and comprises 24 member institutions: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, Rochester and Scottsdale), Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, City of Hope, Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute, Levine Cancer Institute, The John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, Ohio State University, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, University Health Network (Princess Margaret Hospital), University of California, San Francisco, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, UT Southwestern, Virginia Cancer Specialists and Washington University in St. Louis.

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