6 August 2015 (Brussels, Belgium) - The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation has pledged €1 million to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Research Fund to help fight cancer, particularly breast cancer. Part of the donation will support the SPECTAcolor Biobank, a tumour tissue sample Biobank and biomarker analysis platform for genetic profiling of patients suffering from advanced cancer. In supporting this Biobank, the Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation will join forces with Walgreens Boots Alliance, which has a long-term partnership with the EORTC Cancer Research Fund.
The aims of the EORTC are to develop, conduct, coordinate, and stimulate translational and clinical research in Europe to improve the management of cancer and related problems by increasing survival but also patient quality of life. Among its initiatives is a breast cancer group whose goal is to carry out high quality international clinical trials.
Ornella Barra, Executive Vice President of Walgreens Boots Alliance and President and Chief Executive of Global Wholesale and International Retail, who oversees corporate responsibility at the Company, commented: “We warmly thank the Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation for its kind donation, which will greatly help support the Biobank in its efforts to prolong and save lives of colorectal cancer patients. Corporate Social Responsibility is at the heart of what we do at Walgreens Boots Alliance and we are committed to making a positive and lasting difference to the wellbeing of the communities we serve.”
“We are making powerful inroads in the fight against breast, colon and other cancers,” said Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., trustee of the Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation. “This donation will continue to build momentum as we strive to develop cancer cures within a generation.”
“Warmest thanks to Mireille and Dennis for this generous donation, and for their visionary philanthropy,” said Denis Lacombe, Director General of the EORTC. “This donation will significantly advance the Biobank, which has the ultimate goal of enabling better access to new treatment options.”
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Notes to Editors:
About the EORTC
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) brings together European cancer clinical research experts from all disciplines for trans-national collaboration. Both multinational and multidisciplinary, the EORTC Network comprises more than 2,500 collaborators from all disciplines involved in cancer treatment and research in more than 300 hospitals in over 30 countries.
Through translational and clinical research, the EORTC offers an integrated approach to drug development, drug evaluation programs and medical practices. EORTC Headquarters, a unique pan European clinical research infrastructure, is based in Brussels, Belgium, from where its various activities are coordinated and run.
The EORTC Cancer Research Fund was established as an international association with the specific aim of obtaining funds for the support of the activities of the EORTC.
www.eortc.org.
About The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation
The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation was created with the mission of accelerating progress in global public health. Through the Foundation, Dennis Gillings, PhD, CBE, and Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., support various projects, including global public health fellowships and research involving cancer, precision medicine and thrombosis.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise in the world.
The company was created through the combination of Walgreens and Alliance Boots in December 2014, bringing together two leading companies with iconic brands, complementary geographic footprints, shared values and a heritage of trusted health care services through pharmaceutical wholesaling and community pharmacy care, dating back more than 100 years.
The company employs over 370,000* people and has a presence in more than 25* countries; it is the largest retail pharmacy, health and daily living destination in the USA and Europe. Including its equity method investments, Walgreens Boots Alliance is the global leader in pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing retail with over 13,200* stores in 11* countries. The company includes one of the largest global pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution networks with over 350* distribution centers delivering to more than 200,000** pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals each year in 19* countries. In addition, Walgreens Boots Alliance is one of the world’s largest purchasers of prescription drugs and many other health and wellbeing products.
Its portfolio of retail and business brands includes Walgreens, Duane Reade, Boots and Alliance Healthcare, as well as increasingly global health and beauty product brands, such as No7, Botanics and Soap & Glory. More company information is available at www.walgreensbootsalliance.com.
* As at 31 May 2015 including equity method investments
** For 12 months ended 31 May 2015 including equity method investments
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