Curing cancer from within: Promise of immune therapy

Dr. Guenther Koehne
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Curing cancer from within : Promise of immune therapy
Pictured at the event are (l-r) Shannon Fairbanks, Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Kate Bohner, Jim Davidson, Roxanne Cason, and Patty Godwin.

For most people, the word “chemotherapy” calls to mind crippling nausea, debilitating fatigue, hair loss, and pain, among other side effects. Yet, today, immunology breakthroughs are changing the paradigm of cancer treatment by providing new and efficacious therapy options for many hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

Jim Davidson, founder and CEO of Coral Gables Trust, one of the fastest-growing trust and wealth management firms headquartered in Florida, recently hosted the firm’s latest “Health and Wealth” series event featuring world-renowned cancer expert Guenther Koehne, MD, PhD, along with David Ferreiro, PhD, partner, TimesSquare Capital Management, New York, for a two-part discussion on the evolution of cancer immunotherapy and the pharmaceutical companies leading the way.

The program and dinner took place May 23 at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and were co-hosted by Judy Zeder with The Jills Zeder Group. It was attended by a mix of Miami’s civic, social, and business leaders. Among the notable attendees included: Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Shannon Fairbanks, Darlene Boytell Perez, Jon and Nancy Batchelor, Jon and Judy Zeder, Dan and Bru Kodsi, Sissy De Maria Koehne, Erin Knight, Mike Eidson and Dr. Margaret Eidson, Don and Elizabeth Kress, Andre and Joan Blackman, Peggy Sapp, Roxanne Cason, George King, Mason Williams, Richard DeNapoli, Kate Bohner, Melanie Plumer Brown and Bowman Brown.

An internationally renowned expert in the application of both autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma, and other lymphoproliferative diseases, Guenther Koehne, M., PhD, serves as deputy director and chief of Blood & Marrow Transplantation and Hematologic Oncology at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida.

Prior to joining the Institute in 2017, he was a leading physician in adult bone marrow transplantation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and an associate professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Koehne is recognized for his work in immunotherapies before and following allogeneic stem cell transplants, and he established several novel treatments for leukemia and high-risk multiple myeloma, minimal residual disease, and relapsed disease post-allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Dr. Koehne spoke about the rapid development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches and their integration into current treatment plans. He spoke to the significance of targeted therapeutics with CAR T-Cell therapies and multiple other non-chemotherapeutic treatment options to specifically target hematologic malignancies.

Dr. David Ferreiro, portfolio manager and partner on TimesSquare Capital’s U.S. Equity team and a Management Committee member overseeing TimesSquare, is responsible for research coverage of the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices industries. Prior to joining TimesSquare in 2015, he was a vice president at GMT Capital.

Dr. Ferreiro, led a discussion on “Investing in Novel Cancer Therapies.” In focus for the presentation were ways in which cell-based therapies are revolutionizing the treatment of Multiple Myeloma. Multiple Myeloma accounts for 10 percent of all blood-based cancer diagnoses. Recently approved BCMA targeting Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cells (CAR-T) have reshaped the treatment paradigm, significantly improving the outlook in relapsed multiple myeloma. The relapsed setting has been an area of significant medical need due to the paucity of treatment options.

“It is a privilege to host this important discussion on the future of immunotherapy as an alternative to chemotherapy with these experts in the field of cancer research,” Davidson said. “Everyone is affected by cancer in one way or another, and it is encouraging to know that there are alternatives to the harsh side effects of chemotherapy and, in many cases, are leading to improved patient outcomes and cure rates.

Coral Gables Trust is one of the fastest-growing independent and privately held trust company headquartered in South Florida and a leading provider of Wealth Management, Trust and Estate, and Financial Planning services for clients throughout the State, as well as nationwide and internationally.

For more information, visit https://cgtrust.com.

 

 

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