West Cancer Fundraiser Set for This Weekend

The West Cancer Center’s signature fundraising event, West Fight On: Cycle. Run. Walk, is set to take place at Shelby Farms Park this weekend.

The event is Saturday, Sept. 16, with components that include a 5K run, three cycling routes of different lengths and a one-mile Tribute Walk, all of which makes possible different fitness activities for the entire family.

The cyclists will start at 7 a.m. and the 5K and Tribute Walk will start at 9 a.m. The event will culminate in a special Survivor Ceremony in the Celebration Village beginning at 11:30 a.m. Funds raised will support The University of Tennessee/West Institute for Cancer Research, the nonprofit fundraising arm of West Cancer Center.

According to West Cancer Center medical oncologist Dr. Brad Somer, the main goal of the event is to raise funds needed to support research and patient services, but also to engage more members of the community “as participants in the event and advocates for our cause.”

Businesses that have come forward to support the event this year include Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., which has signed on as presenting sponsor. Bank of Bartlett – whose president Harold Byrd credits West Cancer Center with saving his life a decade ago – is a featured sponsor.

– Andy Meek

Memphis Madness Slated for Oct. 12

The University of Memphis men’s and women’s basketball programs will host Memphis Madness on Thursday, Oct. 12, at FedExForum.

The event, which will begin at 7 p.m., will feature entertainers iHeartMemphis and Gabrielle Nicole. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the student-athletes from the men’s and women’s teams being available for autographs until the beginning of the event.

The evening will feature a dunk contest, a three-point shooting team contest, and scrimmage. There will also be performances by the Mighty Sound of the South and the University of Memphis cheer and pom squads.

Tickets, which will be $5, can be purchased at the Memphis ticket office by calling 901-678-2331, or online at gotigersgotix.com.

The men’s basketball program has the top recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference, including two junior college First Team All-Americans in Kareem Brewton and Kyvon Davenport.

The women’s team returns two all-conference players in Cheyenne Creighton and Brea Elmore and looks forward to the return of Ashia Jones, a UT-Martin transfer, who was the nation’s fourth leading scorer in the 2014-15 season.

– Don Wade

Baker Donelson Adds AI Technology to Services

Memphis-based law firm Baker Donelson is adding artificial intelligence technology software developed by Kira Systems to provide business clients with faster, more cost-effective legal services, the company announced.

Baker Donelson will implement Kira to conduct due diligence for transactions and for contract review and analysis, two key areas where the technology will enhance the abilities of the firm’s attorneys to increase efficiency and accuracy. Kira will be deployed on transactions best suited to the use of the platform, such as complex acquisitions and capital raises for businesses with large contract bases like wholesalers, retailers, service providers and franchisors, according to a press release.

Kira Systems’ award-winning software uses machine learning technology to uncover information in contracts – even when the wording varies from document to document, Baker Donelson said. Lawyers use Kira to help automate the extraction and analysis of key provisions from both structured and unstructured contracts, accelerating and improving the accuracy of due diligence, deal-terms studies, general contract reviews, regulatory compliance and more.

“Kira brings a whole new model of delivering service to our clients,” William S. Painter, Baker Donelson’s chief innovation officer, said in a statement. “It exemplifies our firm’s philosophy of using innovative technologies combined with our experience and industry-leading processes and systems for more efficient and cost-effective delivery of exceptional legal services.”

– Daily News staff

UTHSC’s Roth Appointed to Autism Council

Jenness Roth, family disability training coordinator at the UT-Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has been appointed to Gov. Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Roth will serve a three-year term alongside the heads of a variety of governmental agencies.

The purpose of the council is to establish a long-term plan for a system of care for individuals with ASD and their families.

It’s also meant to assess the current and future impact of ASD on Tennessee residents; to assess the availability of programs and services currently provided for early screening, diagnosis and treatment of ASD; to seek additional input and recommendations from stakeholders; and to develop a comprehensive statewide plan for an integrated system of training, treatment and services for individuals with ASD.

The council also wants to ensure interagency collaboration as the comprehensive statewide system of care for ASD is developed and implemented; to coordinate available resources related to developing the care system; and to coordinate state budget requests related to systems of care for individuals with ASD based on the studies and recommendations of the council.

Roth, who has worked at UTHSC for eight years, is the parent of a 31-year-old son with ASD.

– Andy Meek

GTx Announces Positive SUI Trial Results

Memphis-based biopharmaceutical company GTx Inc. has announced top-line clinical trial results demonstrating that a daily dose of enobosarm 3 mg substantially improved stress urinary incontinence in women, as well as related quality-of-life measurements.

All 17 patients completing 12 weeks of treatment in the open-label trial saw a clinically significant reduction (50 percent or greater) in stress leaks per day, compared to an established baseline. Mean stress leaks decreased by 83 percent from baseline over 12 weeks, and the reductions in daily stress leaks following completion of treatment have been sustained as patients are being followed for up to seven months post-treatment, according to a company release.

The results were presented at the International Continence Society’s annual meeting going on in Florence, Italy, Sept. 12-15.

“All 17 patients completing treatment have shown a significant reduction in the number of leaks per day recorded at their baseline, and the improvements in symptoms were sustained well beyond ceasing enobosarm treatment at 12 weeks,” said Dr. Kenneth M. Peters, chairman of urology at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, and the principal investigator in the trial. “The results in this proof-of-concept study are promising, and we are excited to be participating in a larger, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study.”

The abstract is available on the International Continence Society’s website at ics.org.

Based on the results from its enobosarm Phase 2 proof-of-concept study, the company has initiated a random placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the change in frequency of daily stress urinary incontinence episodes following 12 weeks of treatment.

The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of enobosarm (1 mg and 3 mg) compared with placebo in postmenopausal women with SUI.

Enobosarm has previously been evaluated in clinical trials enrolling in excess of 1,700 patients, in which approximately 1,200 individuals received doses ranging from 0.1 mg to 100 mg, and has been observed to be generally safe and well tolerated, a GTx release said.

“Since stress incontinence occurs when muscles that control one’s ability to hold urine get weak or do not work, it stands to reason that increasing pelvic floor muscle mass should reduce involuntary or unintentional leakage of urine,” said Dr. William J. Evans, adjunct professor in the geriatrics program at the Duke University Medical Center. “The muscles of the pelvic floor are enriched with androgen receptors and are responsive to the body’s hormonal status, which is why we hypothesize that a selective androgen receptor modulator, like enobosarm, could have a beneficial effect on SUI.”

– Daily News staff