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Dr. Daniel Von Hoff Inducted Into
Joshua Lederberg Society

Dr. Daniel Von Hoff Inducted Into <br/>Joshua Lederberg Society

Based on the original press Release February 13, 2014. Seena Magowitz Foundation is proud to announce that Dr. Von Hoff has been inducted into the Joshua Lederberg Society for his work in developing the drug Abraxane for advanced pancreatic cancer patients. Dr. Von Hoff is Distinguished Professor and Physician-In-Chief of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and is honored for advancing FDA approved treatment benefiting advanced stage pancreatic cancer patients.

The Lederberg Society is named for the late Dr. Joshua Lederberg, a Nobel Prize laureate and leader in bacterial genetics whose expertise and guidance played a key role in the birth of Celgene, a biopharmaceutical company that produces Abraxane.

Dr. Von Hoff, who is considered among the nation’s leading authorities on pancreatic cancer, and presented a talk during his induction ceremony durng February, 2014 at Celgene headquarters in Summit, N.J. This is the 7th induction ceremony of the Lederberg Society, which annually honors no more than two new members whose work has changed the practice of medicine.

“Dr. Von Hoff’s life long achievements in pancreatic cancer treatment and research are truly remarkable, but even more remarkable is his commitment to the patients who benefit from his tireless efforts on their behalf,” said Dr. Jeffrey Trent, TGen President and Research Director. “I can think of no one more deserving of this award than Dr. Von Hoff.”

Dr. Von Hoff was the principal investigator of MPACT (Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Clinical Trial), a multi-year international study involving 861 patients, at 151 community and academic centers in 11 nations in North America, Europe and Australia.

The study, whose findings were published October 31 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, found that Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel), when combined with the previous standard therapy, gemcitabine, significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and drug response rates for patients with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. As a result of the study, the FDA on September 6, 2014 approved Abraxane as a front-line therapy for such patients. In December, the European Commission also granted its approval.

“This is a new standard for treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer that could become the backbone for other new treatment regimens,” said Dr. Von Hoff at the time of the FDA approval. “The fact that Abraxane plus gemcitabine demonstrated an overall survival benefit is a significant step forward in offering new hope for our patients.”

Abraxane wraps traditional chemotherapy, paclitaxel, in near-nano sized shells of albumin, a protein that the tumor could recognize as food. Once inside the tumor, the Abraxane may act like a “Trojan Horse” to release chemotherapy and kill the cancer cells.

Dr. Von Hoff also was the principal investigator for the first clinical trial of gemcitabine, the first therapy to show improvement in survival for patients with pancreatic cancer. The FDA approved gemcitabine in 1996.