About Breakthrough Therapies

One of the most significant advances in cancer treatment in recent decades was not a drug, but a law.

Working with our partners in all sectors, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends)  took ‘Breakthrough’ from a concept in a scientific white paper to a bipartisan legislative solution. Today, the Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) is a formal expedited program actively used by FDA to help speed the approval of promising drugs. 

A new drug may be designated as a Breakthrough Therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease and preliminary clinical evidence suggests it provides a substantial improvement over existing therapies. Once the  designation is requested by the drug sponsor, FDA and the sponsor work together to determine the most efficient path forward. 

As of September 30, 2025, FDA has approved 336* Breakthrough Therapy designated products and lists that there have been 1622 total requests for the designation with 634 designations granted. 

What is the unmet need and why does it matter?

As knowledge about complex diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS has expanded, researchers have been able to develop increasingly precise methods of treatment. Targeted therapies, a variety of drugs that target specific molecular pathways, allow physicians and researchers to identify patients highly likely to respond to treatment. Frequently, these new drugs show major clinical activity and significant improvement over currently available treatment early in their development. In cases where new drugs show early promise, and particularly in cases where existing treatment options are limited, the traditional multi-phase, sequential drug development process may not be appropriate.

How are we helping to find solutions?

On November 10, 2011, Friends and the Engelberg Center for Healthcare Reform at Brookings co-hosted the fourth-annual Conference on Clinical Cancer Research, an event which brings together experts in cancer drug development from academia, industry, federal health and regulatory agencies, and patient advocacy. A panel from this conference discussed potential approaches to speed the FDA approval process for drugs that show large treatment effects early in clinical development while still ensuring drug safety and efficacy. 

Creating Bipartisan Legislative Action

The “Advancing Breakthrough Therapies for Patients Act” was introduced in the Senate by Senators Bennet (D-CO), Hatch (R-UT), and Burr (R-NC) on March 26, 2012. Two months later, Congresswoman DeGette (D-CO) and Congressman Bilbray (R-CA) introduced the “Breakthrough Therapy Act” in the House of Representatives. The bills received bipartisan support and were included as an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, the latest iteration of the Prescription Drug User Fee bill. On July 9, 2012, the Breakthrough Therapy designation was signed into law. 

A new drug may be designated as a Breakthrough Therapy if it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease and preliminary clinical evidence suggests it provides a substantial improvement over existing therapies. Once the Breakthrough Therapy designation is requested by the drug sponsor, FDA and the sponsor work together to determine the most efficient path forward. The legislation mandates FDA guidance be developed outlining the criteria and process for the Breakthrough Therapy designation. 

At the 2012 Conference on Clinical Cancer Research, Friends developed a white paper and panel discussion in the pursuit of encouraging use of the new pathway and informing FDA guidance.