Sirtex Medical provides donations to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women's Hospital in support of the Artzi Lab, as part of Sirtex's corporate citizenship strategy to support research and innovation

WOBURN, Mass., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirtex Medical (Sirtex), a leading manufacturer of targeted liver cancer therapies, has provided grants to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women's Hospital for the advancement of cancer treatment, to be shared with the independent Artzi Lab.

This grant aligns with Sirtex Medical's mission and values to impact health and well-being and to reduce health inequalities by supporting science and research. As a leader in cancer care, Sirtex aims to help institutions and scientists with the purpose of finding cures and new therapies for cancer patients across the globe.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Artzi Lab is dedicated to designing smart material platforms and medical devices to combat cancer. Founded and led by Dr. Natalie Artzi, the lab is supported by Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MIT (through the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, or IMES) and the Broad Institute, in various laboratory research endeavors with the goal to propel technologies from bench to bedside. The Artzi Lab studies the responses to the combination of radiation therapy and immune-modulatory agents in a range of solid tumors using pre-clinical models.

Sirtex hopes this philanthropic donation will help to further study and understand the impact radio therapies can have on the tumor microenvironment, allowing treatments for cancer to be more effective, and to identify previously treated refractory tumors that can have tumor biology remodeled with Y-90 therapy allowing for effective cancer treatment.

"Tumor biology is critical to the understanding and delivery of effective cancer treatments. To advance the field of tumor-directed therapies, we must support the people who understand the mechanism and pathology of the tumor microenvironment and its response to varied therapies," said Dr. Mark A. Turco, Global Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Research and Development at Sirtex. "Sirtex, through this donation, is proud to support the Artzi Lab."

"We are deeply thankful to Sirtex for its generous donation," said Dr. Natalie Artzi, Assistant Professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Principal Research Scientist at IMES, and Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. "Working closely with MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital, our team is eager to study the combination of immunotherapy, biologics and other available modalities, such as tumor-directed radioembolization therapy, to innovate cancer treatment for patients and providers."

To learn more about the Artzi Lab and its research, click here.

About Sirtex

Sirtex is a global healthcare business with offices in the U.S., Australia, Europe and Asia, working to improve outcomes in people with cancer. Sirtex's current lead product is a targeted radiation therapy for liver cancer called SIR-Spheres® Y-90 resin microspheres. For more information, visit www.sirtex.com. SIR-Spheres® is a registered trademark of Sirtex SIR-Spheres Pty Ltd.

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