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— LONDON, June 5

LONDON, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Former England footballer, Geoff Thomas is pressing the Government for urgently needed cash to develop and deliver new leukaemia treatments.

Thomas, a leukaemia survivor himself, is leading a presentation to the All Party Cancer Group of MPs at Westminster, at the invitation of MP's Julie Kirkbride and the committee Chairman Dr Ian Gibson on Monday June 9th.

He is urging the Government to back his 5 year, GBP20m public/private funding campaign to finance drug and other treatment trials to tackle leukaemia and other blood cancers.

The Geoff Thomas Foundation is aiming to finance specialist research at 6 of the UK's top research hospitals situated in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Cambridge.

"These new drug and transplant therapies will save lives and it's only a lack of money that's stopping them getting into clinical trials and creating new treatments for patients. We are determined to persuade the Government to invest in our initiative," said Geoff.

Professor Charles Craddock of the University Hospital in Birmingham added, "Currently the development of these new and often complex therapies is being hampered by the absence of an appropriate clinical trials infrastructure allowing their rapid introduction into clinical practice. As a consequence patients are failing to benefit from the billions of pounds which have been invested into basic medical research and there is now an urgent need to fund a network of leukaemia trials units across the UK."

Geoff Thomas is available for interviews and a press briefing also attended by Professor Charles Craddock will be held at the House of Commons at 11.30 in Dining Room A (access via Cromwell Green Entrance) on Monday 9th of June. Further photograph and interview opportunities will be available at 2.30 after the presentation.

Notes to Editors

Former England footballer, Geoff Thomas played for Crystal Palace and Wolves. Since his successful treatment he has undertaken numerous fundraising challenges including the gruelling Tour de France and has raised over GBP3m.

The new clinical trials infrastructure will be based at: St Bartholomew's Hospital, London; John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford; University Hospital, Birmingham; Nottingham City Hospital; Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and the Manchester Royal Infirmary.

These Geoff Thomas Foundation Centres are currently working together on a portfolio of ground-breaking studies, a number of which are world firsts. The studies include:

- A first study of its kind in Europe, combining the activity of a new anti-leukaemic drug, Azacitidine, which works by repackaging DNA in conjunction with a novel form of stem cell transplantation. - A world first study in which the cells that provide immunity and protection against a potentially lethal viral infection, cytomegalovirus, are harvested from stem cell donors and infused into children and adults at risk of this infection post-transplant. If successful it has the potential to transform the way stem cell transplantation is performed. - Contributing to a major European collaborative effort to study two entirely new classes of drugs which repackage abnormal DNA in order to repair the defect associated with leukaemia. Working as a team they are also leading a scientific analysis of how these extremely promising new drugs work to kill leukaemic cells in patients treated on this study. - The development of an entirely new form of treatment for patients with myeloma, combining stem cell transplantation with a new form of targeted drug therapy.

Note to Editors:

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.

Contact Selwyn Rowley (M +44(0)7803-739968) or Sophie Butler (M +44(0)7709-483385) or LMMC on +44(0)1926-611700 email selwyn@lmmc.co.uk or sophie@lmmc.co.uk

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