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Contact: Robin Swanson
Press@YesOn38.com
*B-Roll Footage: https://bit.ly/4zS8j5w
*Interviews available upon request.
With federal funding cuts putting medical research at universities at risk, California scientists say Proposition 38 will bring us closer to life-saving treatments and cures
SACRAMENTO, CA – With one week left before the November election, a potentially groundbreaking new cancer vaccine offers the latest evidence of how immunology research can transform the future of cancer treatment, showing why California needs to pass Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative.
Immunotherapies are already helping people with cancers like melanoma, lung cancer and leukemia reach long-term remission, and California’s science community sees the potential to prevent and cure many more diseases, from Alzheimer’s and heart disease to Parkinson’s and ALS.
The New York Times reported last week that an experimental personalized mRNA vaccine helped prevent high-risk melanoma from returning or spreading when combined with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda. Researchers called the findings a potentially significant step toward a new generation of cancer treatments that harness a patient’s own immune system to fight disease.
“Having spent decades at the forefront of disease prevention, I understand the promise of vaccines, therapies and cures that come from immunology research,” said Wayne Koff, Ph.D., Managing Partner of Next Frontier Advisors, and founder of the Alzheimer’s Vaccine Initiative and the Human Immunome Project. “Supporting Prop 38 is a vital step toward decoding the human immune system and accelerating the breakthroughs needed to end our most devastating diseases.” READ MORE HERE.
This recent medical breakthrough also shows why patient advocates say maintaining investment in medical research is critical amid uncertainty over federal research funding.
“Just two decades ago, fewer than one in ten patients with advanced melanoma survived five years,” said Stephanie Kauffman, Chief Executive Officer of the Melanoma Research Alliance. “Today, approximately half are surviving — a remarkable transformation driven by immunology. This is the kind of hope our patients and their families need.”
Prop 38 comes at a critical moment as federal research funding cuts and uncertainty have halted at least 160 active clinical trials nationwide, stalling discoveries just as medical research is gaining momentum. The measure will create a stable funding source for scientists and medical experts working to advance life-saving treatments and cures.
Prop 38 is designed to pay for itself. Ten percent of all proceeds from the licensing of immunotherapies must be returned to California to offset the measure’s total costs, including interest. Additionally, any cure or immunotherapy developed will be provided to California patients at a 20 percent discount. Prop 38 also includes strict accountability requirements, including:
- 2 percent cap on state administrative expenses
- Public disclosure of spending
- Independent financial audits
- For-profit corporations are not eligible for grant funding
YES on Prop 38 is supported by a broad coalition of patient advocates, doctors, nurses, scientists, researchers and medical organizations working on behalf of Californians affected by cancer and other devastating diseases.