Annual Report 2008

“The international scientific community carries out multidisciplinary, medical ­research with no regard for national borders. SWISS BRIDGE follows the same principle to seek financial support for this work, in order to intensify the ­international fight against cancer on all fronts, and to allow future generations to profit from the present advances being made.”

Prof. Dr Giorgio Noseda, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation

SWISS BRIDGE AWARD 2008

The SWISS BRIDGE AWARD 2008 for CHF 600’000.00 was won by

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Helleday, Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology & Biology, University of Oxford UK,
• Prof. Dr. Dario Neri, Departement für Chemie und angewandte Biowissenschaften, ETH Zurich and
• Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Teti, Dipartimento di Medicina sperimentale, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, Italy.

54 projects were submitted by scientist from all over Europe. The scientific office of the Swiss Cancer League has coordinated the evaluation process by the Scientific Board of the Foundation.

 

Foundation biobank-suisse

 

The foundation biobank-suisse is a network of biobanks in Switzerland. It will allow getting a quick overview of the available biospecimens and data for researchers.

The biggest challenges the biobank-suisse is facing are the different structures of the various biobanks, the different ethical, legal and social issues, as well as the introduction of an “informed consent”.

You will find detailed information on www.biobank-suisse.ch

 

Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Over the past 6 years SWISS BRIDGE has made substantial contributions to INCA to carry out the following projects:

• Establishment of a national tumor and DNA bank in Brazil.
• Gene expression profiling studies in Brazilian cancer patients.
• Molecular heterogeneity of leukaemia and lymphomas.
• Molecular markers and environmental interaction in the study of pathogenesis of childhood leukaemia in Brazil.

When the Chairman of our Scientific Committee visited the research team in Rio de Janeiro, he reported: “In summary, this group at INCA gets better and better, partly reflecting SWISS BRIDGE investment, and the reward in terms of scientific outcome is more than satisfactory.”

You will find detailed information on www.inca.gov.br

 

Supporters and Friends of the Foundation

The contributions by the Supporters and Friends of the Foundation have also fallen. We are therefore also looking for more donations to cover the cost of the foundation, which allows us to pay the funds designated for cancer research to the scientists without deducation of any expenses.

 

New management

In the course of the last year Mr. Heinz Waech, who had a 30 years career in banking, has been introduced to the activities of SWISS BRIDGE. As of 1st January 2009 he has taken over the management of our foundation. At the same time, Thomas Hoepli has been elected to the board of the foundation, which will allow him to continue to seek support for "his baby".