Lyon Bernard Cancer Centre, Lyons, France.
Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon, France.
Lyon Bernard Cancer Centre (CLB) is a private, not-for profit comprehensive hospital dedicated to cancer treatment and research. Staff comprises 1,000 persons including 70 researchers (of whom 9 have tenured faculty appointments with University Claude Bernard). This 221-bed facility, with approximately 4,800 new admissions and 35,500 out-patient visits each year, will soon (2007) host the newly founded Paediatric Haematology-Oncology Institute (IHOP), a 54-bed facility specialised in the treatment of children with haematopoietic malignancies and solid tumours. A joint venture between CLB and University Hospitals of Lyon, IHOP will rapidly grow to be one of the largest paediatric cancer centres in Europe, with roughly 200 new cases per year, including approximately 70 new paediatric leukaemias.
Dr Raphael ROUSSEAU (until March 2009)
Dr Eve-Marie NEIDHARDT–BERARD (starting on April 2009)
Consortium partners:
Fondazione Matilde Tettamanti, Monza, Italy.
The Fondazione Matilde Tettamanti (FoMT) is a “no-profit” Scientific Institution, involved in the area of research on childhood leukemias and hematological diseases and is part of the Pediatric Department of the Milano-Bicocca University, based at the S. Gerardo Hospital in Monza, ITALY, which is specialized in the treatment of hematological diseases in children, in particular leukemias and lymphomas. An officially recognized “no profit” Organization since 1987, FoMT collaborates closely with the “Maria LetiziaVerga Committee”, which since 1978 has provided support and psycho-social programs for the families of leukemic children. The Foundation invests its own resources in the PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY CENTER in Monza. The Center is a modern structure which occupies a total floor space of 4800 mq within the S. Gerardo Hospital and includes: an Admittance Haematology Ward, a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, an Outpatients Department, the M. Tettamanti Research Center, the “S. Verri” Laboratory for Cell and Gene Therapy –the GMP facility-and a Biostatistics Unit. The Paediatric Hematology Center is part of the General Paediatric Department and is dedicated to caring for children with haematological diseases, especially leukemias and lymphomas. Today, the number of children referred to the Center is about 20% of all cases of leukemia diagnosed in Italy. The Foundation sustains and promotes the research projects of the Pediatric Hematology Center which concern the biological, therapeutical and psychosocial aspects of childhood leukemias.
Dr Ettore BIAGI
Dr Virna MARIN
Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway
The Norwegian Radium Hospital (NRH) constitutes the Comprehensive Cancer Centre within Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet HF. The combined hospital has 5800 employees and 34,000 patients are admitted annually as inpatients, along with 155,000 outpatient consultations. The hospital is a highly specialized university hospital with strong commitment to research and development of new methods for treatment of cancer. The Institute for Cancer Research has seven research departments and more than 230 employees. It has a strong emphasis on translational research, the hospital has established a Clinical Cancer Research Unit with its own doctors and specially trained nurses for early drug development (phase I and II studies). The section for Immunotherapy is focusing on development of cancer vaccines, generation of tumour specific T-cells for therapy and immuno-gene therapy, and has been responsible for initiating >20 phase I/II clinical trials over the past 10 years. Two of these trials have been developed in close co-operation with the Paediatric Department and are among the first trials of immuno-gene therapy with tumour mRNA transfected dendritic cells for paediatric patients with solid tumours or leukaemia.
Etablissement Français du Sang, France.
L'Etablissement Français du Sang or EFS (French Blood Agency), is a national public organisation that succeeded the Blood Agency in 1992. It is responsible for ensuring that the need for labile blood products is met, guaranteeing maximum security in the operation of the French blood transfusion system, and encouraging the adaptation of transfusion activities to medical and scientific developments. The EFS is made up of 18 regional establishments which the EFS Rhône-Alpes is among the most important. The main activities of EFS are transfusion medicine, cell engineering, biological medicine, research and international cooperation. In 2004, EFS Rhône-Alpes took more than 280,000 blood or cell samples of from normal volunteers, and distributed about 400 haematopoietic allogeneic or autologous stem cells. In 2005, the EFS Rhône-Alpes achieved ISO 9001:2000 certificate. In terms of biotherapy, the EFS Rhône-Alpes has two health centres and two units of cell therapy where haematopoietic stem cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, mesenchymal stem cells and tissues are treated or produced. Moreover, four laboratories are dedicated to the HLA typing, platelet immunology and cellular immunology. One R&D laboratory is devoted to the development of new cell therapies and the improvement of current cell therapies mainly in cancer diseases.
University College London, London, UK.
UCL consistently ranks among the top five university institutions in the UK league tables and in the top 10 universities across the world, with an annual turnover of over 550 million. UCL's community of 27,000 staff and students is engaged in productive partnerships around the world. UCL is affiliated with University College Hospital Trust on its campus. The Department of Haematology spans both these institutions and has a programme of basic and translational research, using its large leukemia / lymphoma and bone-marrow transplantation service as its clinical base.
Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Great Ormond St Hospital (GOSH) is the largest paediatric hospital in the UK with 360 beds and employing 2600 staff. GOSH has over thirty specialist paediatric medical, surgical and support services, giving it the most developed range of paediatric specialties in the UK. Also, GOSH has the largest paediatric leukaemia service (100-150 new acute leukaemia cases per year) and BMT programme (55 allografts per year) in the UK. GOSH works in partnership with the Institute of Child Health (ICH), which is a world-class centre in research into paediatric disease, and together they form the largest paediatric research and teaching centre in Britain.
University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster or University Childrens Hospital Muenster. The Department is one of the largest paediatric and adolescent programs for Haematology and Oncology in Germany. The department comprises a 20-bed Paediatric Oncology ward, 3 supportive are beds on the Infectious Diseases ward, 3 beds on the interdisciplinary transplant unit and a large outpatient department with 4 day care beds. We treat on average 120 newly diagnosed cancer patients per year with the full spectrum of Paediatric malignancies covering a population of approximately 7 million people in the Northwest of Germany. A special focus of our Department lies raditionally in the therapy of childhood leukaemia (AML-BFM study group) and sarcomas (Euro-E.W.I.N.G. 99 and COSS-96/EURAMOS trials). In addition, there are approximately 30 patients with brain tumours (consultants: Dr. R. Str�er, Priv.-Doz. Dr. M. Frhwald) treated per year in our hospital and we have an outreach nursing team and a Paediatric Pain Specialist to organise palliative are of our patients at home.
International Confederation of Childhood Parent Organisations, the Netherlands.
ICCCPO (International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organisations) is an international network through which its member organizations may share information to build better links between parents and health care professionals. It promotes greater awareness and understanding of the issues and effects of childhood cancer on an international level with other health or child related organisations such as the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), UICC, UNICEF, and WHO; it creates opportunities to improve access to advances in the treatment and care of childhood cancer patients, particularly in underdeveloped nations where the best possible treatment and care are not available due to lack of medications, facilities, information and other resources. Moreover, its mission is to share information and experience in order to improve access to the best possible care for children with cancer everywhere in the world.
ACIES / Projets et Réseaux de Recherche, Lyon, France
ACIES is a French SME, founded in 1990. Its activities cover the promotion, organisation and management of Research and Innovation in Europe. Areas of intervention cover Research Taxation and its environment such as Research Tax Credit, transfer prices, accounting standards (IFRS, etc.), industrial property rights, as well as the activities related to collaborative research in general and FP in particular. The last activity was grouped under the same umbrella, «PROJETS ET RÉSEAUX DE RECHERCHE» (P2R), which was created in March 2009 under the same holding company than ACIES. ACIES/P2R team members advise and assist players worldwide and from all sectors, in funding strategy, management and the promotion of their R&D programs at economic, scientific and societal level. ACIES/P2R provides a unique combination of multidisciplinary skills in scientific, technological, economic, financial, marketing, fiscal, legal and managerial fields. Since 1990, over 1000 national and international companies have placed their confidence in ACIES and P2R (ALCATEL ALENIA SPACE, AFM (French Muscular Dystrophy Association - TELETHON), CNRS, INSERM, MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE, MERIAL, SNECMA, STMICROELECTRONICS, TRANSGENE, CEA, EDF, FRANCE TELECOM, SAINT-GOBAIN, VALEO, etc.).
European Institute for Research and Development of Transplantation Strategies, Idar-Oberstein, Germany
EUFETS is a subsidiary of FRESENIUS. The multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians at EUFETS is involved in basic and clinical research programmes, and has provided state-of-the-art services to EU investigators involved in gene therapy approaches.
Unité de Thérapie Cellulaire et Génique, Nantes, France
UTCG is recognised as the reference center to manufacture the cell therapy product (CTL CD19z cells) and the team has a strong background in the T-cell immune response against EBV and is the production facility for clinical grade bank of allogenic 3rd party EBV CTL for on going Phase I/II clinical study. UTCG is certified by French Health Authorities AFSSaPS regarding preparation, storage and delivery of autologous hematopoietic stem cells.
