A letter from William R. Sellers, MD

Vice President and Global Head of NIBR Oncology Research

As the head of NIBR Oncology Research,
Dr William Sellers currently oversees the small molecule and antibody-based drug discovery efforts conducted by research groups based in Cambridge, Mass., Basel, Switzerland and Emeryville, Calif., and he was also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr Sellers' past research efforts were focused on understanding genetic alterations in prostate cancer and elucidating the role of mutations in PTEN in deregulation of PI3K signaling. As a Principal Investigator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute, working with Dr Meyerson, he co-led efforts to develop the use of highresolution genomic approaches, which lead to the discovery of MITF as an oncogene in melanoma and oncogenic activating mutations in EGFR in lung adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma. Dr Sellers has been the recipient of funding for research from a number of organizations including the National Cancer Institute, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation.

At NIBR, our mission is to discover, and bring to patients, therapies that aggressively, effectively and efficiently attack cancer at the molecular level.

As we continue to research the details behind small molecules, we can attack genetic abnormalities more efficiently and aggressively. Our own history tells us that this approach is integral to our success.

But we cannot do it alone. Our employees are passionate about discovering a curative approach to treatment, which starts with patient stratification and personalized therapy. We also work in collaboration with our academic and biotechnology colleagues to help us take the science from the bench to the patient.

At Novartis, we take an aggressive and systematic approach toward combination therapy, which extends life and is a critical component of curative results. The unique breadth of the Novartis pipeline facilitates combination approaches with our own agents ranging from cytotoxics to monoclonal antibodies to small molecules. An exciting array of therapeutics in the clinic are targeting key signaling nodes. These molecules include the mTOR inhibitor RAD001, the novel PI3K inhibitor BEZ235, the RAF inhibitor RAF265, the FLT-3/FGFR inhibitor TKI258 and the HDAC inhibitor LBH589, to name a few.

Our innovative approach to combination therapy also supports the patient stratification approach to trial design. Breaking down the barrier by providing the right biomarker, validation of that program and the broader applicability for the oncology community is where the future of oncology and the passion of NIBR come together.