Foundation for Liver Research

Company Awards $1.8M in Grants to Eight Organizations in Brazil, India, Thailand and the United Kingdom PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today unveiled a $1.8 million initiative to advance health equity by addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) in four countries with underserved patient needs, including Brazil, India, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. The new health equity grants are an extension of the company’s broader long-term commitment to invest $150M in health equity by 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Inequities in healthcare systems present a unique global challenge, with some studies suggesting that SDoH factors account for up to 50% of health outcomes within the United States.1 The World Health Organization (WHO) defines SDoH as non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, such as: income and social status, education, physical environment, social support networks, genetics, health services and gender. As echoed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3 (Good Health & Well-being), SDoH are crucial to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.2 "We know that a healthier world is attainable, but access remains a significant challenge for many patients and social determinants of health present barriers to people attaining their full potential for health and well-being,” said Cari Gallman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Bristol Myers Squibb. “These new health equity grants reinforce Bristol Myers Squibb's commitment to ensuring all patients have access to high-quality health care, regardless of where they live.” These healthcare-strengthening grants will support eight organizations that are addressing the root causes of inequities in an effort to deliver long-lasting impacts at a community level. The grantees were selected in countries with underserved communities living with cancer and blood disorders. Based on the outcomes of this pilot program, the Company will consider expansion to other geographies and communities to remove systemic barriers to care, and enable better access and health outcomes. The grantees include: The Instituto Lado a Lado pela Vida in Brazil, which serves the rural population and patients with cancer who live in the countryside and small, economically disadvantaged towns of the North area of Minas Gerais. This project focuses on prevention, improvement of diagnosis and patient referral for treatment. The Instituto Oncoguia in Brazil, which is focusing on training the health team at Sistema Único de Saúde Oncology Centers with the aim of ensuring that all non-medical professionals who care for people with cancer are informed and empowered with the latest information in the world of cancer. The Gabriel Project Mumbai in India, which is creating innovative and comprehensive solutions to treat sickle cell anemia and oral cancer among underserved tribal villages. The Liver Foundation, West Bengal in India, which is training rural healthcare providers to be advocates, referral points and drop-out counselors at the grassroot level and align them with public health linkages for prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma in the rural Indian communities. The Foundation for Education and Development in Thailand, which is working to improve prevention and primary care in Burmese migrant communities living close to the southern border with Myanmar. It aims to do this by increasing linkages of migrants to Thai healthcare facilities and services to increase healthcare access for Myanmar migrants. The Patients Association in the United Kingdom, which aims to bridge the gap between social care and healthcare, ultimately reducing health disparities and improving access to quality care for underserved populations. Blood Cancer UK in the United Kingdom, which is leading a project aimed at reducing inequality in clinical trial recruitment for people from ethnic minority communities with blood cancer. Blood Cancer UK is also partnering with local communities to co-design a model, with accompanying tools, campaigns or services, to improve awareness of and enrollment in clinical trials at a local level. The Less Survivable Cancer Taskforce in the United Kingdom through Pancreatic Cancer UK, which is working to ensure governments and health services across the UK prioritize and commit to concrete actions for less survivable cancers, with the goal of doubling survival rates over the next decade. Bristol Myers Squibb’s Approach to Health Equity At Bristol Myers Squibb, health equity is the opportunity for all people and communities across the globe to attain their full potential for health and well-being. Our work extends beyond traditional healthcare boundaries, emphasizing the importance of community voices and cross-sector partnerships in co-creating solutions that drive meaningful and equitable health outcomes worldwide. About Bristol Myers Squibb Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, please visit BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. philanthropy-news ______________________________ 1 Hood CM, Gennuso KP, Swain GR, et al. County Health Rankings: Relationships Between Determinant Factors and Health Outcomes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. February 2016; 50(2):129-135. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.024 2 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Sustainable Development. The 17 Goals. Available at . Accessed March 2024. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts media@bms.com Source: Bristol Myers Squibb Smart Multimedia Gallery Document Bristol Myers Squibb’s Global Health Equity Grants Focused on Social Determinants of Health Logo View this news release online at:

EDISON, N.J., Sept. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)-driven therapeutic drug development for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”), hepatocellular carcinoma (“HCC”), and other chronic liver diseases, today announced that its research collaborators from London’s Institute of Hepatology will present new findings on the Company’s cyclophilin inhibitor, rencofilstat, in an awarded oral presentation at the 2022 joint meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) and European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA), taking place September 17-20, 2022 in Cracow, Poland. Alcohol-associated liver disease (“ALD”) is a global health burden with a lack of effective therapies. Previous studies have demonstrated that cyclophilins participate in various stages of liver disease, including steatosis, fibrosis, inflammation, cell injury and HCC. The study to be presented evaluated the effects of rencofilstat in human tissue-derived experimental models of ALD, and on fibrosis in primary hepatic stellate cell (“HSC”) cultures. In addition to reducing alpha-smooth muscle actin and improving collagen fiber alignment in HSCs, rencofilstat profoundly reduced the expression and secretion of pro-fibrogenic markers and restored a balanced cytokine profile in patient-matched precision cut liver slices exposed to hepatotoxic insults. “These data confirm the role of cyclophilins in liver fibrosis – including HSC activation, collagen deposition and orientation – while also revealing, for the first time, rencofilstat’s therapeutic potential to reduce ALD-induced fibrosis,” said Dr. Robert Foster, PharmD, PhD, Hepion’s CEO. Oral Presentation Details Abstract title:Cyclophilin inhibitor Rencofilstat as a potential therapy for Alcohol-associated Liver Disease Authors:Elena Palma1,2, Una Rastovic1,2, Sara Campinoti1,2, Nicola Harris1,2, Omolola Ajayi1,2, Bruna Almeida1,2, Tsin Shue Koay1,2, Sandra Phillips1,2, Karoline Lackner3, Daren Ure4, Melissa Preziosi5, Rosa Miquel5, Yoh Zen5, Andreas Prachalias5, Krishna Menon5, Nigel Heaton5, Luca Urbani1,2, Shilpa Chokshi1,2 Presenter:Una Rastovic Session:34 – Free Oral Communications 5 Date:Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Time:11.45 am CET 1The Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology, Foundation for Liver Research; 2King’s College London, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine; 3Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz; 4Hepion Pharmaceuticals; 5Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College London