The co-founder and former president of the cannabis company Cresco Labs is funding childhood cancer research.
Today, Gateway for Cancer Research (GCR) announced that Choice Consolidation Corp. CEO Joe Caltabiano has donated $250,000 toward cancer research.
GCR is a nonprofit organization focused on funding transformational early-phase cancer research.
Caltabiano has been a GCR board member since 2016.
When Fighting Cancer is Personal
Cancer is a subject close to Caltabiano, having survived a battle with blood and bone marrow cancer when he was a child.
When Caltabiano was seven, he received an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia diagnosis, which he says was one of the most profound moments of his life.
The diagnosis later inspired Caltabiano to enter the cannabis industry.
Caltabiano says despite challenging treatments and recovery, he views his childhood leukemia as one of the best things that ever happened to him.
He says the experience gave him a unique perspective that, even now, helps guide his attitude.
“It is hard to have a bad day once you have survived cancer,” says Caltabiano. “I want more kids going through cancer treatment to have the opportunity to feel this same way. Recovering from leukemia is really tough, especially when you are a child. The Gateway Concierge program provides such an incredible opportunity to make a real difference.”
Working Together to Fight Cancer
One of Caltabiano’s goals in life is to find a cancer cure.
GCR Executive Director Jessica Cestone says benefactors like Caltabiano turn their passion for fighting cancer into a purpose.
Cestone says they create new possibilities in cancer care together with world-class clinician-scientists.
“This funding will dramatically improve the lives of children undergoing treatment for leukemia,” says Cestone. “For a project of this scale, collaboration is key to its success. The timing of Joe’s transformative gift allowed Gateway to sign on as one of the early funders of the trial to help accelerate the discovery of new and effective treatments that will provide lasting cures for children with blood cancer.”
GCR says it used Caltabiano’s gift to provide a grant to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in support of the Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL) Master Clinical.
PedAL is an international effort to expedite childhood cancer treatment development.
According to GCR, patients in the PedAL trial will receive genetic sequencing and biomarker screenings that identify their disease’s unique molecular drivers.
Patients will then enter sub-trials with targeted therapy that best matches their individual genetic information.
Since 1991, GCR has been one of the few nonprofits dedicated to funding Phase I and II clinical trials for all cancer types.
GCR says its efforts have urgently delivered breakthroughs for cancer patients and their families.
“For children with relapsed acute leukemia, there is no standard of care, and their prognosis is poor,” says Caltabiano. “As a childhood cancer survivor, I chose to invest in Gateway because of its targeted mission to fund early phase research, which is where cancer breakthroughs happen.”
Caltabiano says he is honored to associate with GCS and its important work.