Stand Up To Cancer Announces Fundraising Campaign at CVS Pharmacy Locations Nationwide

Funds Raised Will Help Accelerate Innovative Cancer Research as Part of CVS Health's Commitment to Building Healthier Communities

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Stand Up To Cancer

Oct 29, 2018, 09:23 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) today announced the launch of an in-store fundraising campaign at CVS Pharmacy locations across the country, as part of its national collaboration with CVS Health. The in-store fundraising campaign will help SU2C's ongoing efforts to turn every cancer patient into a long-term survivor and will run from October 28 – November 17. CVS Health colleagues and customers have raised more than $20 million for Stand Up To Cancer since 2014.

Funds raised now through November 17 will support SU2C's collaborative cancer research model which brings together scientists from different institutions and across multiple disciplines to work together to develop new treatments quickly. CVS Pharmacy customers can support Stand Up To Cancer by donating $1, $3 or more at the register or online at www.StandUpToCancer.org/CVSHealth.

"We all know someone who has been affected by cancer, and it impacts our customers, colleagues and communities each day," said Eileen Howard Boone, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy, CVS Health. "Aligning with our company's purpose of helping people on their path to better health, we're honored to support Stand Up To Cancer's groundbreaking research that is helping to save lives now."

This year's campaign will be supported by in-store radio and marketing collateral at CVS Pharmacy. The campaign will also relaunch a public service announcement produced in partnership with the content website Funny Or Die. The PSA features a young boy who humorously struggles to spend the dollar given to him by his grandfather, only to learn that his good fortune can be put to best use when he donates the dollar to SU2C at his local CVS Pharmacy.

Since last year's campaign, SU2C has launched and advanced teams focused on finding cancer at the earliest possible stages, perhaps before the cancer has fully formed so that it can be effectively stopped or treated, an initiative called Cancer Interception. Expanding its portfolio of Convergence Research, combining clinical oncologists with experts in computational disciplines, Artificial Intelligence, physics and engineering, SU2C Teams are seeking to both find cancer earlier, and to best determine how to use immunotherapy in combination treatments and how to determine which patients will or won't respond to treatment.

The critical funds raised by CVS Pharmacy customers over the past five years have helped SU2C to develop new effective treatments such as an immunotherapy, called CAR T, which was approved by the FDA in September 2017 for treatment of a difficult to treat type of pediatric leukemia, known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This first success could lead to similar treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other cancers. SU2C was an early -- and major -- funder of immunotherapy research and these investments, thanks in part to CVS Health and their customers, are contributing significantly to advancements in this field. In addition to the strides in immunotherapy, SU2C has supported developments of treatments that received FDA approval for pancreatic cancer, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. Promising clinical trial results have been submitted to the FDA or are nearing completion for breast, colon, and ovarian cancers and for metastatic melanoma.

"We are extremely grateful to CVS Health and their customers for their continued commitment to Stand Up To Cancer, and for their ongoing support of SU2C's research which gets new therapies to patients faster," said Stand Up To Cancer Co-Founder Sue Schwartz. "The extraordinary support we receive from CVS Health helps drive our mission to make every cancer patient a long-term survivor."

Stand Up To Cancer would also like to thank CVS for working with GlaxoSmithKline in supporting SU2C. When CVS customers buy Nicorette, Nicoderm CQ, or MyQuit Band at CVS Pharmacy locations through November 17, GlaxoSmithKline will donate $1 to SU2C, up to $100,000.

For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and to make a donation, please visit www.StandUpToCancer.org/CVSHealth.

About Stand Up To Cancer
STAND UP TO CANCER (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. A division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), SU2C was established in 2008 by media and entertainment leaders who utilize these communities' resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, to increase awareness about cancer prevention, and to highlight progress being made in the fight against the disease. As of April 2018, more than 1,500 scientists representing more than 180 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects.

Under the direction of our Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., staff at SU2C and the American Association for Cancer Research, our Scientific Partner, implement rigorous competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and ensure collaboration across research programs.

Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, and Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., serves as SU2C's president and CEO.

Stand Up To Cancer and SU2C are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Entertainment Industry Foundation in the United States and several other countries throughout the world. SU2C is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.StandUpToCancer.org.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,800 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 94 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com/.

SOURCE Stand Up To Cancer