First Phase is a $1 Million Donation to Fund Life-Saving Cancer
Research, Honoring Dr. Dennis J. Slamon’s Work at Revlon/UCLA Women’s
Cancer Research Program
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 5, 2015--
Revlon announced a $1 million donation to the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer
Research Program, furthering its long-time commitment to eradicating
women’s cancers. The donation was unveiled by Revlon Chairman Ronald O.
Perelman, CEO Lorenzo Delpani, and Global Brand Ambassador Halle Berry
at a LOVE IS ON celebratory luncheon Wednesday, June 3rd in
Los Angeles, honoring Dr. Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., and Director of
the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program at UCLA’s Jonsson
Comprehensive Cancer Center, for his outstanding achievements in cancer
research. The effort is the first phase of Revlon’s new philanthropic
platform of bigger and more impactful donations to women’s health
initiatives that is in keeping with Revlon’s LOVE IS ON global mission
to inspire love.
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Dr. Dennis J. Slamon, Revlon Global Brand Ambassador Halle Berry and Revlon CEO Lorenzo Delpani at the Revlon Love is On Luncheon Honoring Dr. Dennis J. Slamon in Los Angeles (Photo: Business Wire)
“LOVE IS ON is in everything we do at Revlon, including our commitment
to caring for women’s health,” says Lorenzo Delpani, CEO of Revlon, Inc.
“It is LOVE that inspired our philanthropic direction to make more
significant and impactful donations to women’s health initiatives. We
unveiled the first phase of this mission with a direct donation of $1
million to Dr. Dennis Slamon and the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research
Program. It is our goal that this donation will help to enable Dr.
Slamon and his team to continue their research into major cancer
breakthroughs that will lead to lives being saved, ultimately finding a
cure.”
Revlon’s relationship with Dr. Slamon began in 1990, when through a
groundbreaking gift, Ronald O. Perelman and Revlon funded the research
that was needed to bring the cancer treatment drug Herceptin to market.
Before the drug was developed, breast-cancer patients with high levels
of the human epidural growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) faced a
bleak prognosis. Their aggressive tumors were far less likely to respond
to standard therapies. Now, these women have among the highest survival
rates, and today Herceptin is standard treatment for women with HER2+
tumors. It has been found that when offered in combination with other
therapies, including chemotherapy or surgery, Herceptin dramatically
reduces breast-cancer-recurrence rates, without causing the adverse side
effects such as hair loss and nausea that often accompany conventional
chemotherapies.
“Over 20 years ago, we made the decision to fund research that promised
to change the face of breast cancer treatment forever. Some said it was
a risk,” said Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman of Revlon, Inc., “but one
that has proven very successful. As we know today, Herceptin has become
one of the most important drugs in treating certain types of breast
cancer and has turned one of the deadliest forms of the disease into one
of the most treatable. Revlon is committed to continuing the fight
against all cancers and to doing so alongside Dr. Slamon.”
The latest numbers are impressive. A study published in the New
England Journal of Medicine in 2011 found that treating HER2+ early
stage breast-cancer patients with a combination of chemotherapy and
Herceptin significantly reduced recurrence rates by half in specific
types of early HER2+ breast cancer and by one-third in metastatic HER2+
patients. It increased survival by about 35% and 30%, respectively, in
those early and metastatic HER2+ breast cancers. In 2014, a large study
led by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and
published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that
adding a year of Herceptin to standard chemotherapy for HER2+ patients
improved overall survival by 37% and boosted 10-year overall survival
rates from 75% to 84%.
Building upon this legacy, Dr. Dennis J. Slamon recently led the recent
decade-long development of Ibrance, the groundbreaking new drug to treat
patients with ER+/HER2- breast cancer, the most common form of the
disease. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January
2015, Ibrance signals a new strategy for arresting tumor growth and
extending the time before cancer worsens in women with metastatic
disease.
“We have made tremendous advancements in the field of breast cancer
treatments over the past two decades, but our work is far from over,”
said Dr. Dennis J. Slamon. “We are currently working on potential new
therapies and treatments for triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian
cancer, and this extremely generous donation will help us to continue
this groundbreaking research that has the potential to save the lives of
more women battling these deadly diseases.”
Since 1990, Ronald Perelman and Revlon, through collaboration with the
Entertainment Industry Foundation and Lilly Tartikoff, have distributed
$49 million to the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program and Dr.
Dennis J. Slamon. These funds have helped accelerate critical research
needed to bring cancer treatment drugs such as Herceptin and Ibrance to
market. Moving forward, Revlon will be unveiling a new campaign later
this year to raise awareness and funds in support of other noteworthy
women’s health initiatives.
“The goal of our new philanthropy effort is to provide funding at a
level that will truly make a difference in women’s lives,” added Lorenzo
Delpani, CEO of Revlon, Inc. “We are confident that this new path will
continue to have a significant impact on women’s health initiatives.”
For more information about Revlon #LOVEISON, visit: www.revlon.com/loveison,
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @Revlon.
About Revlon:
Revlon is a global cosmetics, hair color, hair care and hair treatments,
beauty tools, men’s grooming products, anti-perspirant deodorants,
fragrances, skincare, and other beauty care products company, which
operates in two segments, the consumer division (“Consumer”) and the
professional division (“Professional”). CEO Lorenzo Delpani’s vision is
to establish Revlon as the quintessential and most innovative beauty
company in the world by offering products that make consumers feel
attractive and beautiful. Revlon believes that its global brand name
recognition, product quality, R&D, innovation and marketing experience
have enabled it to create leading global consumer and professional
brands. Revlon’s Consumer segment global brand portfolio includes
Revlon® color cosmetics, Almay® color cosmetics, SinfulColors® color
cosmetics, Pure Ice® color cosmetics, Revlon ColorSilk® hair color,
Revlon® Beauty Tools, Charlie® fragrances, and Mitchum® anti-perspirant
deodorants. Revlon’s Professional segment global brand portfolio
includes: Revlon Professional®, CND®, including CND Shellac® and CND
Vinylux® nail polishes, and American Crew® men’s grooming products.
Websites featuring current product and promotional information can be
reached at www.revlon.com,
www.almay.com,
www.mitchum.com,
www.revlonprofessional.com,
www.americancrew.com
and www.cnd.com.
About UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 450 researchers
and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection,
control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest
comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson Cancer Center is dedicated to
promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge
clinical studies. In July 2014, the Jonsson Cancer Center was named
among the top 10 cancer centers nationwide by U.S. News & World Report,
a ranking it has held for 14 years. To learn more about the center,
visit its web site at http://www.cancer.ucla.edu.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150605005706/en/
Source: Revlon, Inc.
Press:
Revlon Global Public Relations
Victoria Ashley,
212-527-4137
Victoria.Ashley@revlon.com
or
Lippe
Taylor
Andrea Halpern, 212-598-4400 x 129
ahalpern@lippetaylor.com
or
UCLA’s
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Reggie Kumar, 310-206-2805
ReggieKumar@mednet.ucla.edu