Cancer Innovation Coalition Seeks To Close Gap Between Development And Market
The Cancer Innovation Coalition (CIC) convened its first national policy forum this week where researchers, government officials, and industry experts met to discuss methods of closing the gap between promising new therapies and cancer patients, Drug Discovery and Development (DDD) reports.
In recent years, there have been several revolutionary advances in cancer research, such as anti-body drug conjugates (ADCs) and more personalized treatment regimens, however few have made it to market. According to the CIC, therapies in development are being thwarted by low clinical trial enrollment, as well as bureaucratic and financial issues.
Because treatments are becoming more personalized and thus more complex, few drugs which show promise in early stages of a clinical trial proceed all the way to the FDA application process and incur massive expenses in the process.
According to DDD, scientists and government officials worked together and discussed ways in which clinical trials for cancer drugs might be more efficient, floating ideas such as considering a larger pool of participants, decreasing the number of patients required to proceed into trial, and altering the duration of the trial once it starts.
DDD reports that Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA, said that the agency was willing to consider trials which tested more than one drug at the same time. Furthermore, biomarkers could be used to predict which patients would respond the best to different treatments.
However, because there is still so much to learn with biomarkers and so much that those outside the laboratory do not understand, many insurance companies and Medicare are leery of funding treatments based on their use. Experts suggest collaboration, data sharing, and registries, which could paint a broader picture of these biomarkers’ “clinical validity.”
Researchers report that enrollment is critically low, either because patients do not know about possible clinical trials, their eligibility has been restricted, or they’ve been prohibited by cost. As a result, 70 percent of clinical trials are conducted overseas, says DDD.
Scientists at the forum discussed the possibility of a national program which could educate and reach out to cancer patients nationwide, as well as other incentives that could reduce the cost of treatment for those inhibited by financial burden.
Nancy Davenport-Ennis, founder of the National Patient Advocate Foundation, says, “Through Project Innovation, stakeholders and policymakers can chart a new roadmap to bring promising new treatments to patients.”
The CIC hopes that the forum will result in a list of suggestions and specific policy recommendations, which will be formed into an official agenda they hope to publish in early 2015.