Maximizing Benefit and Improving Tolerability for Patients Through Dose Optimization Virtual Event Questions and Answers Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) continues to be committed to improving clinical trial design and drug development to support patients. In September 2021, Friends hosted an event called Beyond Breakthrough: Optimizing the Breakthrough Therapy Designation that highlighted ongoing…
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…
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 July 29th, 2021, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a virtual meeting revolving around the recently released 21st Century Cures 2.0 discussion draft. It featured a discussion panel of Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), Dr. Ned Sharpless, Director of the National Cancer Institute, and Dr. Richard Pazdur, Director of the Oncology…
Creating a New Cancer Research Paradigm by Broadening Eligibility Criteria The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO, a professional society for cancer clinicians and researchers) and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends, a cancer advocacy organization focused on advancing science, policy, and regulation) have been collaborating to promote broader, more inclusive cancer clinical trial eligibility criteria…
Creating a New Cancer Research Paradigm by Broadening Eligibility Criteria The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO, a professional society for cancer clinicians and researchers) and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends, a cancer advocacy organization focused on advancing science, policy, and regulation) have been collaborating to promote broader, more inclusive cancer clinical trial eligibility criteria…
Since 1992, Accelerated Approval has facilitated earlier patient access to promising therapies that treat serious and life-threatening illnesses. While a traditional approval is often based on a therapy’s ability to demonstrate meaningful impact upon a clinical endpoint (e.g. overall survival), Accelerated Approval is granted based upon demonstration of an effect on a surrogate or intermediate endpoint…
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:…
