Speeches
Peter Dolan, CEO Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope
San Diego, September 29, 2005
Thank you, President Van Gorder, and good morning everyone!
In about half an hour, 24 of the people you see here dressed in yellow jerseys, will set off on the coast-to-coast Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. Their grueling journey will truly be the ride of their lifetime. Not only will it carry them more than 3,000 miles from here to the White House Ellipse. It will also carry new hope to patients fighting cancer. And it will bring the word to people all across our nation about the promise of cancer research and the vital role clinical trials play in moving that research forward.
I’m delighted that all of you have joined us here this morning, not to only to get us off to a great start, but also to help this dedicated team go the distance for cancer research. We’re all excited that Tour de France champion—let me make that “seven-time champion”—Lance Armstrong will lead them off. Lance has become an inspiration to people all over the world for overcoming daunting athletic challenges and harrowing medical ones. As you know, this is Lance’s third Tour of Hope for Bristol-Myers Squibb. I’ll say more about Lance and his very special relationship to our company in a few minutes.
In addition to recognizing Lance’s rock solid support, I want to thank all our other partners who helped make the BMS Tour of Hope a reality this year, especially our gracious host this morning, Scripps Health. Scripps treats thousands of cancer patients each year and has a wonderful clinical trials program. Scripps Research Institute is responsible for historic anti-cancer breakthroughs, including the first synthesis of Taxol, now one of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s most effective cancer-fighting drugs. Thank you again for your hospitality and all you have done for patients.
With a 40-year history of oncology leadership, all of us at BMS share Scripps’ commitment to discovering new compounds to help conquer cancer. And, like you, we know there is so much more to do to bring effective new treatments from the laboratory to the patient through clinical trials.
Fewer than 5 percent of cancer patients elect to take part in clinical trials. With this lack of involvement, we run the risk that important therapies will not advance quickly enough to benefit people who might desperately need them.
That’s why our team of Tour of Hope riders is excited about getting started. They are an extraordinary group, each of whom has been touched by cancer in some truly personal way. They know from experience that cancer clinical trials hold the promise of a better life for people struggling with cancer, and could even hasten the day when we conquer the disease. They are dedicated to spreading that message from coast to coast.
I want to tell you something else about our team. One of them, Jennifer Hartley, is an oncology nurse from Mobile, Alabama. Several years ago, she watched her grandmothers, both parents, her aunt, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all lose their battles with cancer. A few weeks ago she lost her house to hurricane Katrina.
One of the first things she did after she and her family found an apartment was to call in and say that she wanted to do the Tour of Hope, now more than ever.
She and the other riders know how much hope means to survivors. All of them want to show their support for the survivors of Katrina – and especially for those who survived the storm AND cancer.
Bristol-Myers Squibb does, too. We have already donated $1 million to the Red Cross and are providing medicines as needed for hurricane survivors, and we have a matching fund program for our employees’ donations. Tour of Hope partners have also announced special hurricane relief programs.
Despite Katrina, the road between here and Washington, DC is open. Our Tour of Hope riders are thankful they still have the opportunity to keep up the momentum of medical progress against cancer, encourage clinical trial participation and fulfill the promise of the Tour Hope.
I want to say again how proud BMS is to sponsor the Tour of Hope, and how grateful we are to the team members for the demanding ride and mission they are about to start. Every survivor thanks you for being willing to go the distance. (leads applause)
No one could be better suited to getting you off to a great start than the man I’m about to introduce, Lance Armstrong. A few months ago, Lance won the Tour de France for the 7th time in a row. But as he will tell you, he is a cancer survivor first, then a champion cyclist---and to all of us he’s an inspiration.
He inspires because he beat his cancer with ferocious grit and determination and with three innovative medicines developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb through clinical trials. And he inspires because, though he may retire from the Tour de France, he’ll never retire from the race against cancer. Through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, he continues to provide funds for cancer research and support of cancer survivors, and his passion for the fight burns as strong as ever.
It is now my distinct pleasure to introduce a survivor, the Tour of Hope’s partner, and a true champion, Lance Armstrong.
For the full text of this speech, please e-mail jeff@porroLLC.com
