Friends of Cancer Research

OVAC member Friends of Cancer Research, highlights the often overlooked but critical role of the FDA in advancing cancer research and ensuring patients receive groundbreaking treatments. As patient advocates, we are all united by a common goal: to ensure patients have access to the most innovative, effective, and safest treatments possible. While we focus on advancing groundbreaking research, ensuring equitable access to care, and supporting patients, there is a critical piece of the puzzle that often doesn’t get the attention it deserves: The FDA. The FDA is the cornerstone of cancer drug development. The agency is key to patient access and ensuring the most promising cancer treatments make their way from the lab to the bedside swiftly and safely. This is why advocacy organizations must take an active role in supporting the agency through appropriations. Without adequate funding, the FDA’s ability to evaluate and approve life-saving cancer therapies could be diminished, potentially delaying access to treatments that patients need today. One of the most critical functions of the FDA is the review and approval of new cancer therapies. Many of these have been made available to patients efficiently through the FDA’s robust review processes, including expedited programs like Accelerated Approval and the Breakthrough Therapy Designation. These programs allow patients to access potentially life-saving therapies, giving those with limited treatment options a chance. However, these programs are dependent on a well-funded FDA. As clinical trials grow more complex and oncology continues to evolve, adequate funding is critical for the FDA to keep pace with scientific advancements. Beyond new therapy approval, the FDA sets the industry standard as a regulatory agency and ensures that patients continue to have access to approved treatments. It also promotes a patient-focused drug development (PFDD) approach, which integrates patient perspectives throughout a product’s lifecycle. The agency monitors treatments for safety, manages manufacturing standards, and oversees ongoing clinical trials. The FDA’s efforts also advocate for equitable access by reviewing clinical trial designs to ensure diverse populations are represented, thereby enhancing the broader applicability of research findings. Ensuring that the FDA has the resources it needs is vital to continuing the progress we’ve made in cancer research. Together, we can ensure that the future of cancer care remains accessible to all patients. For organizations interested in learning more about the FDA and the ways that they impact the research and development process we invite you to take our ProgressforPatients.org course. Also, Friends is hosting an upcoming Annual Meeting, where you will hear from the FDA Commissioner, NCI Director, and leaders of industry, advocacy, and science. Register: https://lnkd.in/eTx4-9vS

Friends President and CEO Jeff Allen is speaking today at Association of Cancer Care Centers ‘s ACORI Community Oncology Inclusive Clinical Trial Design Summit, which brings together key thought leaders and practitioners to achieve a consensus on community oncology site- and patient-inclusive cancer clinical trial design parameters to ensure successful implementation of diverse clinical research programs leading to expansion of more equitable #trial opportunities. The session will cover the evolution of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) in oncology, highlighting the role of technology in increasing rural enrollment, while addressing regulatory considerations, operational challenges, and successful case studies. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eVKwQu-h

Using two different techniques, researchers showed they could temporarily boost ctDNA levels in the blood of mice with tumors. With more ctDNA in collected blood draws, a liquid biopsy could better detect cancer, the research team found. https://go.nih.gov/dIlIcBu

I was honored to lead a terrific discussion on Health Equity in Drug Development: Leveraging #RWD to Inform and Improve Diversity at DIA RWE Conference with Melinda Baker Karina D’Angelo Yun Lu A few key takeaways from our discussion: - Patient socioeconomic attributes impact our clinical studies and outcomes - Lessons learned from real-world studies have the potential to improve health equity by identifying disparities and areas for remediation - Leveraging decentralized, direct-to-patient strategies that meet #patients where they are enhances recruitment and data collection, leading to more inclusive, representative research outcomes Friends of Cancer Research work exploring the implementation of diversity action plans included identifying challenges with setting diversity enrollment goals. RWD is a valuable data source to inform these goals, as well as provide additional safety and effectiveness data on diverse patient populations. Friends has ongoing efforts to support the use of RWD in #regulatory decision-making. Learn more about our work on diversity action plans: https://lnkd.in/ewNMwTFk Learn more about our work in RWE here: https://lnkd.in/g-DnsCsd #FriendsRWE #RWE24

Friends of Cancer Research’s President and CEO Jeff Allen is speaking today at the International Cancer Patient Consortium ’s cancer policy discussion in Washington D.C. “Tackling the Implementation Gap.” Dr. Allen’s discussion on public-private partnerships will help inform an upcoming discussion at The White House on a global cancer fund. Identifying and supporting the best practices to impact on many aspects of the cancer crisis globally. The world needs a renewed commitment to cancer prevention, treatment and care that recognizes the growing challenges, and opportunities to overcome them, including the developments in #cancer care. We need a whole-of-government approach that focuses on the patient and maximizes the potential of new technologies and insights; strengthens cooperation and opportunities for international cooperation and the added value that this will bring; eradicates inequalities in access to cancer knowledge, prevention, diagnosis and care; and delivers improved health outcomes to #patients.   

We're looking forward to the Friends of Cancer Research Annual Meeting on November 12! This public event in Washington DC will also be streamed online and will encompass three critical discussions in oncology drug development: - Considerations regarding interim overall survival analyses - Opportunities for incorporating pragmatism into post-marketing studies and - Approaches for including ctDNA in prospective trials to study it as an intermediate endpoint. We hope you'll join us! https://lnkd.in/ethTC-qd Additionally, on December 5, we're hosting a virtual only event geared towards patient advocates to break down findings from the Annual Meeting and provide a forum for asking questions about the topics. Please share the word with advocates in your network! You can register for that event here: https://lnkd.in/eYCUshis

Friends of Cancer Research’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Brittany Avin McKelvey is speaking this afternoon at DIA’s Real-World Evidence Conference discussing, “Health Equity in Drug Development: Leveraging RWD to Inform and Improve Diversity.”     Dr. McKelvey’s presentation will focus on the implementation of Diversity Action Plans, highlighting current and future opportunities identified through Friends’ previous work on setting diversity enrollment goals: https://lnkd.in/euYaQEpt     Historically, clinical trials lack inclusion and representativeness that may hinder the generalizability of results to the intended use population and contribute to existing health inequities. Real-world data (RWD) can provide context and insights both to set appropriate goals for diversity in clinical research, as well as provide additional information on diverse patient populations. This session will discuss the types of data and evaluation of appropriate data sources to define diversity, inclusion, and representativeness, with a special focus on Social Determinants of Health and health equity, and how to incorporate #RWD to enhance drug development for a more comprehensive view of the population of interest. 

Just wrapped up a great session at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Meeting in #Rome! It was an honor to present on ways to accelerate the development of next-generation cell and gene therapies. The standing-room-only turnout highlighted just how much interest and energy there is in the field. It was great to connect with colleagues from across the globe and discuss innovative strategies like data extrapolation and platform technology approaches to streamline development processes. I’m excited about the potential these collaborative efforts have to bring advanced therapies to patients faster. Thanks to the meeting organizers Carmen Sanges, PhD and Delphine Ammar, panelists, and session participants that helped make this such a dynamic and engaging session. For more details on work from Friends of Cancer Research on this topic, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eBMrh-Aq #ESGCT2024 #CellTherapy #GeneTherapy #NextGenerationTherapies #Innovation #AcceleratingDevelopment #Collaboration

Friends of Cancer Research’s Vice President of Science Policy, Mark Stewart is presenting at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Annual Conference in Rome, discussing a framework for data extrapolation in #cell and #gene therapies, and showing how innovative approaches can accelerate the development of next-generation treatments. The session will explore strategies to leverage platform technologies and regulatory innovation to streamline the path from lab to patient, ensuring faster access to life-saving therapies. Explore Friends Cell and Gene Therapy portfolio here: https://lnkd.in/dSq64Jm4  #esgct2024 #CGTFriends 

[🔔💡Oncology Meeting of Interest: Friends of Cancer Research's Annual Meeting] Register for the FOCR's Annual Meeting on Tuesday 12 November 2024 (hybrid) and join the discussion on critical issues in the development of new #oncology drugs.