On March 29th, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) convened a virtual meeting to discuss the use of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) screening tests, a promising technology that may support earlier detection of cancers. Dr. Ellen Sigal, Friends’ chair and founder, opened the meeting by highlighting the potential for MCED screening tests to shift the trajectory…
On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a live virtual event that brought together leading voices from various health sectors to discuss key considerations for developing diagnostics tests for rare populations of patients, including those with rare diseases and rare biomarkers. The meeting covered topics surrounding the findings from a recent…
On Wednesday, November 10th, Friends of Cancer Research hosted the second day of its 2021 Annual Meeting as a virtual event focused on improving patient outcomes through dose optimization. The first panel discussed the recent white paper on dose optimization and the second panel was a conversation between regulators at the FDA Oncology Center of…
On November 9th, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) held the first of two virtual sessions for their 2021 Annual Meeting, celebrating Friends’ 25th anniversary. The focus of Day 1 was the use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as an early endpoint. The session opened with a few words of welcome from Friends President and CEO,…
Each year, the Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) Annual Meeting addresses critical issues in oncology drug development and features experts proposing unique approaches to overcoming current challenges. On Day 2 of the Friends Annual Meeting 2021, panelists will focus on the pressing need for improved dose-finding studies in oncology drug development and discuss proposals to…
The Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) Annual Meeting provides a venue for multiple stakeholders to discuss pressing issues in oncology drug development, providing potential opportunities to overcome challenges and spur future collaborative work. The session on Day 1 of the Friends Annual Meeting 2021 will focus on building a roadmap for the use of changes…
On Monday, September 20th, 2021, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a virtual event that brought together industry experts, the U.S. FDA, and patient advocates to discuss improving the Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) program. The panelists outlined opportunities to enhance the existing expedited drug development programs, including specific recommendations for the BTD, as outlined in…
On Friday, April 9, ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) co-hosted a live virtual event, which brought together experts from across the healthcare sector to discuss the recent release of the new ASCO-Friends recommendations for modernizing eligibility criteria to improve patient access and representation in cancer clinical trials. ASCO-Friends recommendations address five specific areas:…
On February 11, 2021, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a virtual meeting highlighting and discussing the progress, challenges, and future of immunotherapies and cell therapies. Ellen Sigal, Chairperson & Founder of Friends, gave opening remarks and introduced keynote speaker Ned Sharpless, Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Sharpless spoke about the progress made…
The second of two sessions for the Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) Annual Meeting was held on November 19th. Day 2 featured a shift from Modernizing Expedited Development Pathways to a focus on Optimizing the Use of Accelerated Approval. Following a few words of welcome from Friends President and CEO, Jeff Allen, a fireside chat between…
