Blog: Engaging Innovation

May 13, 2025

Meeting Recap | Unlocking Next-Generation Therapies

On May 9th, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends), in collaboration with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), hosted a public meeting, “Unlocking Next Generation Therapies: Exploring Innovative Development and Manufacturing Models for Cell Therapies.” This meeting came at a critical inflection point, as the scientific potential of engineered cell-based therapies continue to advance and bring hope for patients. However, regulatory frameworks, manufacturing models, and access mechanisms have not fully evolved to support timely and equitable delivery— particularly for patients with rare cancers and other complex diseases. 

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May 6, 2025

Project Pulse | ctDNA Clearance as an Early Indicator of Improved Clinical Outcomes in Advanced NSCLC Treated with TKI: Findings from an Aggregate Analysis of Eight Clinical Trials | CCR

Friends’ recent circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) study examined 8 clinical trials including 940 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) to assess whether changes in ctDNA levels could serve as an early indicator of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). The study investigated the association between ctDNA…

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February 24, 2025

Meeting Recap | Advancing the Future of Diagnostics and Regulatory Innovations Meeting Recap: Sharing Next Steps and Opportunities with Advocates

On February 19, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a public webinar examining the role of advocacy in advancing AI-enabled diagnostics tools and companion diagnostic (CDx) tests for rare biomarkers. Titled "Advancing the Future of Diagnostics and Regulatory Innovations Meeting Recap: Sharing Next Steps and Opportunities with Advocates," the webinar built upon discussions from the “Advancing the Future of Diagnostics and Regulatory Innovations” public meeting held on February 4...

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Bhaavna Yalavarthi and Grace Collins | February 6, 2025

Data-Driven Insights | 20 Years of FDA Leadership in Novel Cancer Drug Approvals

In 2011, Friends published a study in Health Affairs that challenged the prevailing narrative of the time, which suggested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was slower and less efficient than other regulatory authorities, such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This study provided evidence to the contrary, demonstrating that the FDA approved…

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February 5, 2025

Meeting Recap | Advancing the Future of Diagnostics and Regulatory Innovations

On February 4th, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a public meeting, “Advancing the Future of Diagnostics and Regulatory Innovations,” emphasizing the dual objectives of ensuring patient safety while fostering an environment conducive to innovation—a balance that is becoming increasingly critical in an era marked by rapid technological advancements.

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January 13, 2025

Project Pulse | Insights from the Digital PATH Project: HER2 Biomarker Variability Across Artificial Intelligence Models | SABCS

Friends' recent research on homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) involved a comparative analysis of 20 independent HRD assays, assessing both an In Silico (n=348; TCGA database) and a Clinical dataset (n=90; nucleic acids from freshly extracted archival ovarian cancer tumor samples). The assays measured a variety of outputs to define DNA damage repair dysfunction and identify patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) who had HRD. This is important because patients with HRD may benefit from DNA damage repair inhibitor treatments like Poly ADP-ribose Polymerase Inhibitors (PARPi).

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December 9, 2024

Meeting Recap | Friends Annual Meeting 2024 Recap: Sharing Next Steps and Opportunities with Advocates

On December 5, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted a public webinar, “Friends Annual Meeting 2024 Recap: Sharing Next Steps and Opportunities with Advocates,” to provide advocates with an overview of discussions from the 2024 Annual Meeting, outline the path forward, and facilitate a dialogue with the goal of capturing the community’s voice and promoting broader educational access to patient/advocacy groups.

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December 3, 2024

Stakeholder Connect | Insights from First Meeting of the Digital Health Advisory Committee

In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established the Digital Health Advisory Committee (DHAC) to consider topics related to the use of digital tools in drug development. On November 20 and 21st, 2024 the committee convened for the first time to discuss total product lifecycle (TPLC) considerations for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) enabled medical devices. The establishment of the DHAC and this meeting come in response to growing interest and use of these technologies in healthcare and signal a recognition of the unique regulatory challenges presented by GenAI- and AI-enabled devices.

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November 25, 2024

Project Pulse | Analysis of 20 Independently Performed Assays to Measure Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) in Ovarian Cancer: Findings From the Friends’ HRD Harmonization Project

Friends' recent research on homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) involved a comparative analysis of 20 independent HRD assays, assessing both an In Silico (n=348; TCGA database) and a Clinical dataset (n=90; nucleic acids from freshly extracted archival ovarian cancer tumor samples). The assays measured a variety of outputs to define DNA damage repair dysfunction and identify patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) who had HRD. This is important because patients with HRD may benefit from DNA damage repair inhibitor treatments like Poly ADP-ribose Polymerase Inhibitors (PARPi).

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November 14, 2024

Meeting Recap | Friends of Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024

Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) held our 2024 Annual Meeting on November 12th in Washington, D.C. The meeting was a culmination of the collaborative efforts of scientists, clinicians, advocates, and policymakers to develop innovative solutions to challenges in oncology drug development. The meeting featured two keynote conversations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf and Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Kimryn Rathmell, and panels discussing three topics: interim OS evaluations, pragmatic trials in the post-marketing setting, and incorporating ctDNA in prospectively designed trials.

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