Roke Supports Fanconi Hope with Charitable Donation

Roke Manor Research has donated £2,000 to Fanconi Hope, a charity set up to bring hope to those suffering and affected by Fanconi Anaemia. Fanconi Anaemia is a rare genetic disorder affecting young children which leads to bone marrow failure a very high risk of leukaemia and subsequent head and neck cancers. At present there is no known cure for this condition.

The significance of the charity was brought to Roke's attention by Roke's Business Sector manager Bob Dalgleish who has a daughter, Louise aged 8, with this condition.

Fanconi Hope is raising funds to set up a national registry of patients, to support families affected by the condition and to promote UK research in conjunction with key researchers in Germany and the US. The charity has also worked with clinicians and researchers worldwide to produce the first ever UK Standards of Care handbook, to be published in February 2009, so that medical best practice can be shared by all clinicians in the UK to improve care for patients.

Although Fanconi Anaemia only affects a small number of children in the UK, the genes concerned, i.e. the 'Fanconi' pathway, are of great potential importance for all. The Fanconi pathway is an important mechanism for keeping DNA healthy and preventing cancers and is often responsible for a cancer’s resistance to chemotherapy drugs. Knowing how to manipulate the Fanconi pathway is likely to lead to better and more successful treatments for all cancers.

The cheque was presented by Colin Quinney, Sales and Marketing Director at Roke to Dr Mary Morgan, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at Southampton General Hospital, a trustee of Fanconi Hope.

Further information can be found at www.fanconihope.org