Here are a couple more opportunities to learn more about AOH1996.  You can read more on the AOH1996 journey at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.   This article tells the story from the early days to the present and makes wonderful use of Linda’s analogies to explain the science in relatable terms.

You can also listen to Dr. Linda Malkas discuss her research on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk – here

Steve &  Barb Healey

On August 1st, Linda and her team published their study on AOH1996!  While it is challenging for the non-scientist to absorb, we wanted to share it with you.

It is very exciting that AOH1996 has progressed to Phase 1 human trials and has shown promise in lab studies.  The way the news of Linda’s findings has boomeranged around the world this past week has been surprising to all of us.   AOH1996 even appears on Wikipedia.  While most articles have focused on the science, a few have also keyed in on Anna’s story and her smiling face has been in articles from London to India.  Here’s one from a bit closer to home –

https://nypost.com/2023/08/02/new-cancer-hope-as-pill-kills-tumors-thanks-to-little-girl/

We are thankful for so many wonderful friends who have made A.N.N.A. possible.  It is because of your generosity that A.N.N.A. has been able to support Linda & Bob’s research.  Thank you for helping to keep Anna’s dreams of a cure alive!

Steve & Barb Healey

City of Hope press release

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, today published a new study explaining how they took a protein once thought to be too challenging for targeted therapy, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and developed a targeted chemotherapy that appears to annihilate all solid tumors in preclinical research. As the scientists continue to investigate the foundational mechanisms that make this cancer-stopping pill work in animal models, they note that there is an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial testing the City of Hope-developed therapeutic in humans. 

Most targeted therapies focus on a single pathway, which enables wily cancer to mutate and eventually become resistant, said Linda Malkas, Ph.D., professor in City of Hope’s Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics and the M.T. & B.A. Ahmadinia Professor in Molecular Oncology. However, the cancer-killing pill Malkas has been developing over the past two decades, AOH1996, targets a cancerous variant of PCNA, a protein that in its mutated form is critical in DNA replication and repair of all expanding tumors.

“PCNA is like a major airline terminal hub containing multiple plane gates. Data suggests PCNA is uniquely altered in cancer cells, and this fact allowed us to design a drug that targeted only the form of PCNA in cancer cells. Our cancer-killing pill is like a snowstorm that closes a key airline hub, shutting down all flights in and out only in planes carrying cancer cells,” said Malkas, senior author of the new study published in Cell Chemical Biology today. “Results have been promising. AOH1996 can suppress tumor growth as a monotherapy or combination treatment in cell and animal models without resulting in toxicity. The investigational chemotherapeutic is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans at City of Hope.”

AOH1996 has been effective in preclinical research treating cells derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin and lung cancers.

City of Hope press release –

LOS ANGELES — City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, today announced that the first patient to receive its novel, promising cancer medicine AOH1996 is doing well. The Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety of a potentially cancer-stopping therapeutic developed by City of Hope in people with reoccurring solid tumors is expected to continue for the next two years. The investigational pill has been effective in preclinical research treating cells derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin and lung cancers.

Linda Malkas, Ph.D., professor in City of Hope’s Department of Molecular Diagnostics & Experimental Therapeutics, has been working on the research and subsequent discovery and development of AOH1996 for 20 years. AOH1996 is named after Anna Olivia Healey, a young girl born in 1996 who unfortunately was not able to beat cancer. AOH1996 is exclusively licensed by City of Hope to RLL, LLC, a biotechnology company that Malkas co-founded.

The Phase 1 clinical trial tests the safety of providing City of Hope-developed AOH1996 to people with reoccurring solid tumors.

Individuals interested in this clinical trial should review the eligibility requirements at clinicaltrials.gov. If they believe they are eligible, they can call 626-218-1133 or visit City of Hope’s clinical trials webpage. 

City of Hope press release –

Throughout Malkas’s career, Anna’s memory has fueled her. Malkas and her team have developed a drug that targets a protein in all cancers — including the cancer that claimed young Anna. Malkas named the drug “AOH1996,” for Anna Olivia Healey, born in 1996.

“Here we go.”

We received those three words from Dr. Linda Malkas a couple of weeks ago in an e-mail from her research lab in California. They sound like the announcement of a journey preparing to commence. In fact, they indicate the exact opposite. After more than a dozen years of development, the cancer-fighting drug developed by Dr. Malkas and her team and named after our daughter, Anna Olivia Healey, is a reality. AOH-1996 is here!

It has been given approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be used in humans for the first time. Phase 1 study trials will start shortly.

“We have completed our safety review of your Clinical protocol 21310 entitled “A Phase I
Study of AOH-1996 in Patients with Refractory Solid Tumors,” and have concluded that
you may proceed with your proposed clinical investigation…” – USFDA

The drug is possibly already in use. Patients who have exhausted all other forms of treatment typically request to be part of Phase 1 studies for drugs that are new to the scene and show promise in their efficacy towards combatting certain types of cancer, but have not been fully tested in humans to determine ideal dosages and side effects. In the case of AOH-1996, refractory or unresponsive solid tumors of varying types are the target. Neuroblastoma tumors are included on that list.

The journey towards the development of this drug started more than twenty years ago after a chance meeting between Anna’s dad, Steve, and Dr. Malkas. In the ensuing years A.N.N.A. has donated over $500,000 to start the ball rolling in the creation of AOH-1996. Although most of the time and money spent making a viable drug a reality took place in Los Angeles, where Dr. Malkas now conducts her work at the City Of Hope, the seeds for its development were planted here in central Indiana. Money and support from hundreds of friends and family members of the Healey’s helped to make this possible! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

You all have helped to create the greatest legacy to our daughter that we could have ever hoped for.

Through your ongoing contributions to A.N.N.A., we continue to help families fighting cancer with our annual donations to The Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis and through direct assistance to Riley Hospital For Children, just as Anna asked us to do.

Steve & Barb Healey

Here we are, not even halfway through 2015, and it has already been a year of highlights for the Anna Fund.

We here at ANNAFUND HQ have some exciting updates for you. First, because of the generous donations of our long-time and new supporters, we have given over $11,000 in aid to neuroblastoma families in need since our last update in February of 2014. The Anna Fund has paid for pharmacy bills, carpet cleaning, mortgage payments and other personal expenses that families going through treatment at Riley Hospital for Children needed assistance with.

We received a note about a month ago from Dr. Malkas. Her team of researchers at the City of Hope in California is in the process of getting approval from the federal government to start human clinical trials with the AOH drug. This is big news, as it indicates that the Anna drug could be ready for widespread use within a handful of years!

Once again this past year, an army of volunteers wrapped gifts at the local Amazon fulfillment facility and raised $4,276 for A.N.N.A.

We would like to thank the families of Ruthanne Kirby and Herman Brown for requesting donations to A.N.N.A. in honor of their loved-ones’ passing. Their heartfelt support is touching and we appreciate them honoring both Anna and their parents in this way.

Finally, on a personal note, I had the great fortune to meet The Wilkinson Brothers nearly a decade ago. Corey and Casey are identical twins who operate a design firm in Carmel, Indiana. They are possibly the most genuine and creative people I have ever met. They are also motorcycle NUTS! Well, a few years ago I purchased a 1975 Honda CL360. I offered it up to the boys as a blank canvas to do, literally, whatever they wanted to do with it. I knew I would get back a piece of art. I got a text on May 7^th, from Casey letting me know the bike was done. They wanted to know if I could come to their office and see it the next day? On May 8^th, they unveiled to the bike to me. It is an understatement to describe the motorcycle as “incredible.” As they went over their creation, explaining what was modified and what was replaced, they pointed out the initials AOH that they had added to the front of the bike in honor of Anna. I asked them if they knew what day it was. They did not. When I told them it was Anna’s birthday, we all three shared a hug and shed some tears. Anna would have thought the machine was awesome. To see for yourself how awesome the one-of-kind WB360 is, you can go to the brother’s website at goodsparkgarage.com. The bike is also being featured on a motorcycle website out of New Zealand called bikeexif.com.

Thanks bros.!

Thanks ANNA Fund family!

Hello friends. It’s been a while.

It has been a couple of years since I have published an update on the ANNA Fund. If you thought we had gone away, well, we haven’t. Nor have we stopped helping neuroblastoma families in need or funding research to promote more effective neuroblastoma treatment.

Since our last post in 2012, the ANNA Fund has given over $11,500 in aid to families of children receiving treatment at Riley Hospital for Children. We have also donated $30,000 to Riley researcher Karen Pollock’s efforts to find better ways to use existing treatments in the fight against neuroblastoma.

As I have said before, it is uplifting for Barb and I every time we are able to extend Anna Olivia Healey’s legacy through the giving of these funds.

The ANNA Fund continues to stay viable because of the dedicated contributions made by individuals through their corporate giving campaigns and from dollars generated by our annual gift-wrapping shifts at Amazon.com in Whitestown.

Because of you generous contributors and volunteers, the ANNA Fund still thrives.

THANK YOU TO ALL!!!

The drug development research by Dr. Linda Malkas and her team, centering around the AOH compounds developed here in Indiana, continues to advance in California. We get a note from Dr. Malkas about every six months. Here is her latest update:

We screened a chemical database containing almost 6.5 million compounds by computer modeling and identified a small molecule hit, AOH39, which is selectively toxic to neuroblastoma (NB) cells, in comparison to non-malignant human cells.
To improve the potency of AOH39, we made chemical modifications to AOH39 and identified AOH1160, an analogue of AOH39, which is about 10 times more potent than AOH39 in killing NB cells while preserving the favorable therapeutic property of AOH39. Mechanistic studies revealed that AOH1160 arrested both the growth and induced programmed cell death of NB cells.
Given the role of PCNA in maintaining genome integrity, we tested the effect of AOH1160 on DNA repair. AOH1160 significantly inhibited homologous recombination (HDR) mediated DNA repair, while causing only small effects on the end joining (EJ) repair pathway. HDR-mediated DNA repair plays an important role in repairing cross-linked DNA caused by common chemotherapeutic drugs, such as cisplatin. We performed a clonogenic assay to investigate whether the AOH1160 would increase NB cells’ sensitivity to cisplatin and found that AOH1160 treatment sensitized NB cells to cisplatin treatment, demonstrating the potential of combining AOH1160 with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs in treating NB patients.
To determine the efficacy of AOH1160 in a neuroblastoma tumor model, we first performed pharmacokinetic (PK) studies to understand its bioavailability and pharmacological properties in animals. We administrated AOH1160 to a group of rats intravenously or orally and measured AOH1160 levels in their plasma at various time points after drug administration. We found that the drug had a favorable overall PK property. It reached an average peak concentration of 70 ng/ml in animal plasma, significantly higher than the drug concentration required for killing NB cells. We then evaluate the effect of AOH1160 on neuroblastoma tumor growth in mice. Mice implanted with tumor cells were randomly grouped into two groups with 20 mice in each group. The mice were treated with AOH1160 or vehicle twice a day starting one day after tumor implantation for 5 weeks. We observed that AOH1160 inhibited tumor growth significantly in the tumor bearing mice. The weight of the animals was monitored as an indicator of compound toxicity. Significantly, chronic treatment of AOH1160 did not cause any death or weight loss in the experimental animals.

Wow! If you read the entire update, which I edited down a touch, you saw that AOH drug development has progressed into the animal-testing phase. This is pretty exciting news here at ANNA Fund central!

Anna Olivia Healey would be a senior in high school. She would be, no doubt, deciding on where to attend college, making a plan as to how she could make an impact on others.

Thanks to all of you, she is doing just that.

-Steve and Barb Healey

Wow! 2011 was a big year for the Anna Fund. Not only did our incredible supporters come up big (once again) with their generous contributions and participation in our two big events, but the development of the AOH-18 compound into a usable cancer drug to fight human disease made some big strides as well.

The biggest stride concerning the AOH research was literally 3,000-miles-long. As some of you might remember, a few of the most promising compounds were shipped off to the City of Hope Research Hospital in Los Angeles. This facility is a hot bed of drug development with top-notch doctors and scientists on staff and deep-pocketed investors as board members. It’s the perfect spot for the further development of the AOH-18 compound into a drug. With the Anna Fund’s help, in the form of $400,000 that we were able to give to the Dr. Linda Malkas and Dr. Robert Hickey over the years to design, manufacture and test the original 500-plus compounds, they were able to narrow down their search to the four most-promising compounds. Research at their lab located on the campus of the IU Medical Center in Indianapolis showed AOH-18 to be the most promising of the four. I hope everyone associated with the Anna Fund is as proud of these developments as I am.
This is where our role as financial supports of the drug’s development has come to an end. It took $400,000 and then some to plant this seed and watch it sprout into a healthy, maturing plant. To get this crop to harvest (a usable drug to fight cancer), the estimated additional cost is around $80 million. As great as you people have been to the Anna Fund for the past ten years, we don’t have anywhere near that dough. As I mentioned, City of Hope works with investors who have that kind of money and we are more than happy to hand the baton off to them.

The news about the AOH compound gets even bigger, believe it or not. Dr. Malkas and Dr. Hickey were offered positions at City of Hope and followed the compounds to Los Angeles. Initially sad news, we quickly realized that this was great news for the continued development of the drug. With their presence at City of Hope, AOH-18 will be given top priority. By being on staff, Dr. Malkas and Dr. Hickey are optimistic that the journey from now to the creation of a usable drug will be trimmed to five years from the usual ten. Here is the latest update on the research from Dr. Malkas as of January 9, 2012 –

“As timing would have it – on Friday we got more toxicity data back on a AOH compound. Remember toxicity studies are first run on happy normal mice – no tumors. Because if normal mice getting horribly sick the compound is not moving forward. So compound AOH 18 (the one we have decided to work first with in the animal studies – is well tolerated in mice. The mice were given a fairly high dose of AOH 18 everyday for 7 days straight. Other then losing 4% of their body weight in that time they are happy campers, no other toxic effects were noted. And once the dosing stopped they got their weight right back. The compound is readily taken up by the cells in the animal reaching what should be therapeutic concentrations (based on our data in cell cultures) within 30 minutes. The compound is retained in the cells of the mouse for at least 2 hours, which is good since in cell cultures of tumor cells we have observed good killing of tumor cells after a one hour exposure. So bottom line – the drug is taken up into the cells of a living organism rapidly and is retained at a dose that should promote tumor cell killing. And best of all the compound does not promote toxicity in the healthy cells of a normal mouse. All good. These studies have now helped us determine the dose of drug needed to treat mice with tumors. So that is the next step. The big step for all of this work. The test of whether AOH 18 can specifically kill tumors in mice.

I know it feels like it takes forever to move forward – but actually we are making great progress – God willing – if all goes well – we could be moving toward the clinic in 2-3 years with a compound based on AOH 18 – which would be like 7 years earlier then if it was being done by a company – that is what they can do here at the COH.”

-Dr. Linda Malkas, City of Hope

Well, that’s what’s going on in California. I want to tell you what went on in Indiana last year.

Despite Linda and Bob’s move to California we were still able to team up with researchers at Riley Hospital for Children and the IU Cancer Research Institute and aid in their efforts to optimize existing neuroblastoma treatments. In the fall, Barbara and I were lucky enough to present two checks for $25,000 each to researchers and were then briefed on their work. I will save the specifics of their research for another post.

Like I said, 2011 was a big year.

Just as the AOH compounds have moved on, so has the Anna Fund. November 19, saw the end of an era as the last ANNA’s Ball was held at the Marriott North Hotel in Indianapolis. After ten years of eating, dancing, dressing up and fundraising, we felt it was time to move on. Thanks to everyone who helped produce such a great and special event over the years. Thanks to all of you who attended the ball over the past ten years. We will hold our memories of the event like treasures for the rest of our lives.

Remember, this was just the end of the ball, not the end of the Anna Fund. You will still be hearing from me every year asking for your support of ANNA. I just won’t be asking you to come buy a basket and I definitely won’t feed you.

The last ANNA’s Ball raised over $26,000!

2011 also marked the end of the annual Rally for Anna in Rensselaer, Indiana. My mom, Susie Healey, who organized and ran the motorcycle ride through Jasper and surrounding counties has gone above and beyond her grandmotherly duties by producing eight of these events. I am sure Anna is proud of her grandma.

The last Rally for Anna raised over $14,000!

The end of both these events is bittersweet and I am getting a little emotional just writing about it. So, let’s just talk about sweet stuff. 2011 saw very generous donations from other special people.

Once again, Anna’s best friend Elizabeth Torrance, along with her mom Katie Patton, came up big for the Anna Fund. Elizabeth and her mom were part of team that kicked everybody’s butt in an adventure race last summer. They donated their winning purse, $1,000, to ANNA. You’re both very special and we can’t thank you enough.

The family of Steve and Joyce Lane donated generously to the Anna Fund in their memory. Thank you!!

For the third year in a row we wrapped presents at Amazon.com in Whitestown. We receive $.75/present wrapped. Thanks to all of you who volunteered and joined us in December. Because of you, Amazon sent us a $3,500 gift! Holy paper cut, Batman!

The Zionsville High School Lady Eagles basketball teams scored with ANNA as well. Along with their coach, Andy MaGuire, the girls held a fundraiser for us back in December. Thanks ladies! And Andy!

As much as we like it here at ANNA central when you wonderful people give us money, we like it even more when we can pass it along. As I said earlier, we were able to donate $50,000 dollars towards neuroblastoma treatment research once again in 2011. We also paid out $8,700 to families fighting neuroblastoma at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Because of you, we were able to help with rent and car payments for three families.

As 2012 progresses I hope to be able to update you with exciting news about AOH-18. I will probably do that in the form of a newsletter. Depending on the amount of news I have to report, I will produce either one or two of these a year. We hope to be more active on the web with the absence of the ANNA Ball and the Rally. We are always open to fundraising events on ANNA’s behalf and will be more than happy to help with organizing and producing them.

Just one more big thing from 2011. A BIG THANK YOU to all of you incredible people.!!!

– Steve and Barb Healey

Dear Friends of ANNA,

All GREAT things must come to an end. So it is bittersweet that I tell you that this year’s ANNA Ball will be the 10th and last. The ball has been such a great, successful event and we always want to remember it as such. Unlike Brett Favre, we want to go out on top with only great memories of the event. This is NOT the end of the Anna Fund as we will continue to help families that need assistance as they fight for their children’s lives at Riley Hospital for Children. We believe it is just time to move on and try some different approaches to fundraising.

Obviously, we want this year’s event to be as successful as the previous nine. So, we are asking for assistance from you wonderful people who year after year have amazed us with your generosity.

This year’s event will be held on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at the beautiful Indianapolis Marriott North at Keystone at the Crossings. Please mark your calendars! We would love to see you all there.

The ball may be in November, but August is when we start collecting items for our silent and live auctions. The ANNA network has proven to be far-reaching in gathering items in the past and I am hoping that this year will be equally productive. So, if you have something that you think would be perfect for our event, i.e. sports memorabilia, sports tickets, golf packages, entertainment tickets, restaurant gift certificates, high-quality hand-crafted items, travel packages, new children’s items such as toys, games, books, bikes etc., new electronic items, jewelry, fine art, personal services or any other unique things that you think would be appropriate for the ANNA Ball, please send me a note or give me a call at 317/379-4806 and I will come and get it!

You all have been incredible with your support of the Anna Fund and the ball over the years and I can’t wait to see or hear from you again!

Thank you,

Steve Healey
Annafund.org