ASH AND FDA PLAN WORKSHOP ON CLINICAL ENDPOINTS IN MULTIPLE MYELOMA

ASH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a clinical endpoints workshop on multiple myeloma on October 26 in Washington, DC. This one-day workshop will consist of a forum for public discussion of endpoints by experts in multiple myeloma. The workshop will be chaired by Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Anderson will work closely with Ann T. Farrell, MD, from the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in leading the workshop panel, along with other representatives from the FDA and experts in the field of multiple myeloma. James N. George, MD, immediate past president of ASH, will serve as the Society's liaison to the workshop.

This is the second workshop that ASH is co-presenting with the FDA with a focus on clinical endpoints for evaluating the efficacy of drugs for hematologic malignancies. As a result of the first, Workshop on Endpoints in Acute Leukemia, held in June 2005, a formal publication is being developed and workshop recommendations will be presented to the FDA's Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) later this year.

All interested parties are encouraged to attend. For further information, contact Stephanie Kart, ASH Government Relations and Practice Coordinator, at 202-776-0544 or skart@hematology.org.

NIDDK Announces Workshop on Anemias of Inflammation and Chronic Disease

A two-day workshop on Anemias of Inflammation and Chronic Disease, sponsored by the Hematology Program of DKUHD/NIDDK at the National Institutes of Health, will be held at The Historic Inns of Annapolis Conference Center, Annapolis, MD, on May 1 and 2, 2006. This workshop will summarize current insights into the clinical presentation and pathogenesis of these anemias and will define unanswered questions and new opportunities for relevant basic and translational research. The program will consist of presentations by a panel of invited experts who will address:

• The clinical features, diagnosis, epidemiology, and clinical impact of these anemias.
• Pathogenetic mechanisms relating to disordered iron metabolism, disturbances in EPO production and response, and the action of inflammatory cytokines.
• New directions and opportunities for molecular, clinical stratification, and treatment.

There will also be an opportunity for poster presentations and discussion by workshop participants. Individuals who wish to attend this workshop are invited to contact Mary Compton of The Scientific Consulting Group at 301-670-4990 or mcompton@scgcorp.com.

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