Blood Cancer &
 Leukemia

Leukemia Cancer News - Return to Menu

Charleroi girl will donate bone marrow to help her baby sister

By Stacy Wolford
VALLEY INDEPENDENT

June 9, 2005 - CHARLEROI - Sisters Journie and Justess Pletcher soon will form a bond that goes far deeper than sharing their baby dolls and playing together. They will be able to truly say they are "blood sisters" as Journie, 6 - in an attempt to save her baby sister's life - will donate bone marrow to Justess.

Their parents, Jody and Larry Pletcher, of Charleroi, are going through every family's worst nightmare, yet they are grateful for the miracle that Journie's bone marrow matched that of her sister.

Justess, 19 months, was diagnosed last month with a rare form of leukemia called myelodysplastic syndromes, a disorder in which the bone marrow produces too few red blood cells, white blood cells and, often, platelets.

Justess was already potty-trained and weaned from of her bottle when she went to her family doctor for vaccinations April 25. The next day she had a fever, which is not unusual, but it continued to get worse, rising to 104 degrees. Convinced it wasn't a virus, her parents insisted she be admitted to a hospital. "I just had a gut feeling something was wrong," Jody Pletcher, 28, said.

A blood test confirmed her fears and revealed Justess was anemic. Doctors immediately sent her to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Her parents were devastated when they learned Justess has MDS, a form of leukemia most often found in older adults 50 and older.

"Her doctors think she may be the youngest child, right now, in the country, or possibly ever, with this type of leukemia," her mother said.

They were told a bone marrow transplant would provide Justess the best chance for beating the cancer. Finding a match, however, could be difficult, and doctors told the Pletchers not to expect a match from family members.

To the astonishment of everyone, Justess' sister, Journie, was a perfect bone marrow match. "Our doctors told us it was like winning the lottery," her mother said.

Because of the sisterly match, Justess now faces just a 1 percent chance that her body will reject the marrow.

The family's battle is far from over, however. Justess visits Children's Hospital three days a week to participate in a "light chemotherapy" research study. More rigorous treatments are on the way as she prepares for the transplant - and the danger of infection will become a concern as her immune system weakens.

The ordeal has taken a financial and emotional toll on the family. Journie, who will go to first grade at St. Sebastian Catholic School in Belle Vernon, has reacted badly to the news, her parents said.

"I think she knows what she is doing is so important, but I think she is scared for her sister," Larry Pletcher said.

Journie this week is visiting her maternal grandparents Ron and Karen Burner in Minot, N.D. "We miss her so much, but we knew she just needed to get away for a little bit," her mother said.

Before Justess was diagnosed with cancer, the family was planning to move back to Jody Pletcher's hometown of Minot to be closer to her family.

Larry Pletcher, 29, a Schwan's route salesman, just received the OK to transfer to North Dakota. A 1993 Belle Vernon Area High School graduate, he met his wife stationed near Minot at a U.S. Air Force Base. He was a staff sergeant in a security police unit and served in Iraq in 1997 and 2000 - before a medical discharge. The couple will celebrate its ninth anniversary next month. "If anything, this has brought our family closer together," he said.

They are depending on family and friends more than ever, including Larry Pletcher's mother, Lorraine Sala, of Belle Vernon, and his brother- and sister-in-law, Jeff and Nicole Pletcher, of Charleroi.

Belle Vernon marathon walker Al Stancato, who has raised thousands of dollars for local children with cancer, is sponsoring Justess and helped to establish up accounts to help offset medical and family expenses.

"Everyone I work with, our friends, family, and, especially, the staff at Children's Hospital has been wonderful," Larry Pletcher said.

Other than tubes inserted to receive chemotherapy treatments, Justess appears to be a picture of perfect health, with a curious nature. She loves to give kisses, play with her "dollies" and watch Spongebob Squarepants cartoons.

She will be admitted June 19 to Children's Hospital for about eight weeks as she prepares for the bone marrow transplant.

Journie will return from North Dakota on June 20 and will prepare for her own operation. The bone marrow transplant is set for sometime from June 27 to July 1. "It's going to be so hard because both of our little girls will be put under (anesthesia)," their mother said.

It could take up to five years before they know if the transplant is successful. In the meantime, the Pletchers are going to pray and hope for another miracle.

To help Justess Pletcher and her family, send donations to the following: Justess Pletcher Fund (for medical expenses), care of National City Bank, 433 Broad Ave., Belle Vernon, Pa. 15012. (724) 929-6143, or to the Justess Pletcher Family Expenses Fund, BVA Federal Credit Union, 608 Rostraver Road, Belle Vernon, Pa. 15012. (724) 930-9864.)

Stacy Wolford can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 684-2640.

Cephalon expected to buy British drugmaker

By Linda Loyd
Inquirer Staff Writer
Cephalon Inc. announced today that it will buy a British-based pharmaceutical firm for $360 million in cash to gain three marketed cancer medicines and expand its operations in Europe.

Cephalon, Pennsylvania's largest independent biotechnology company, said in a statement released this morning that it had an agreement with shareholders of Zeneus Holdings Ltd. to buy Zeneus Pharma Ltd., an Oxford, England, firm with 15 products, including three lead cancer drugs sold in Europe.

The acquisition is expected to add about $100 million in sales for Cephalon next year and to add to earnings in 2007 and thereafter. The deal, which comes as two key Cephalon drugs lose patent protection in the next two years, will close by early 2006, the Frazer, Chester County, firm said.

"We made a decision to expand our oncology business this year," said Cephalon's founder and chief executive officer, Frank Baldino Jr. "We have expanded the focus of the company from central-nervous system and pain products to central-nervous system, pain and cancer. A lot of the development work we do has global applications, so we needed a strategy to sell oncology products in Europe."

In May, Cephalon bought a San Diego oncology drug-development firm, Salmedix Inc., for $160 million. In June, Cephalon bought a marketed oncology product, Trisenox, from Cell Therapeutics Inc., Seattle.

The acquisition of Zeneus Pharma, with $81.3 million in revenue in 2004, "gives Cephalon a much broader reach into Europe," Baldino said. "One of my goals is to expand the contribution of European sales to our overall sales, and here's a good way to start."

Zeneus Pharma has 245 employees, including a sales and marketing team of 170 in 18 countries in Europe. Cephalon currently has 615 employees in France, England and Germany, and 2,500 employees worldwide, including about 800 in the Philadelphia area.

The acquisition would give Cephalon three key cancer products: Myocet, a chemotherapy treatment used in late-stage breast cancer; Targretin, a medicine for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; and Abelcet, an antifungal cancer drug.

It would allow Cephalon to expand into Spain and Italy and would give the company a bigger presence in France, Germany and Britain, as well as operations in countries including Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Zeneus Holdings, a privately held company backed by funds managed by Apax Partners, a private-equity investment group, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cephalon.

Cephalon, which had $800 million in cash Sept. 30, has grown rapidly, acquiring five companies in the last five years. In 2000, Cephalon bought Anesta Corp. in Salt Lake City, and, in 2001, it acquired Laboratorie L. Lafon in France. Last year, Cephalon bought Cima Labs Inc. in Minnesota.

Cephalon is developing a cancer compound, CEP-701, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials for acute myelogenous leukemia, a blood cancer. Baldino said the 701 compound was "the driving force" for expanding in oncology. "We discovered it and developed it here. I said, 'Let's build a pipeline.' Salmedix was a pipeline play."

Salmedix's lead compound, Treanda, is in midstage Phase 2 clinical trials in the United States and Canada for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a blood cancer.

Treanda has been sold in Germany for a decade as a treatment for various cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Baldino said during a third-quarter conference call Nov. 1 that "2006 will be a transitional year" as the firm's two biggest products, Provigil for sleep disorders and Actiq for severe cancer pain, face generic competition in mid-2006 and 2007. Cephalon plans to launch five new drugs in the next 18 months.

Cephalon has forecast 2006 sales of $1.35 billion to $1.4 billion. However, that outlook is based on U.S. regulatory approval and launch early next year of Sparlon for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Nuvigil, a next-generation version of Provigil for sleep disorders. The company is also counting on OraVescent fentanyl, a pain treatment, to be on the market by late 2006.

Site Map | Acute Myelogenous Leukemia