FasterCures

Cancer is a leading cause of death in the US and China. In China, 4 of the top 10 (by incidence) cancers in China are women’s cancers. To explore opportunities for US-China cooperation on addressing women’s cancers, FasterCures and the US-China Business Council hosted a roundtable in Hong Kong in March of this year. Delegates from the private sector, government, and biomedical research in both countries identified ways to improve outcomes for breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer patients. Our latest brief summarizes the discussion and potential cooperation areas. Read the full brief here: https://lnkd.in/eVGacGYt

Get the latest news from FasterCures in our July newsletter https://lnkd.in/eEDZn_KT

Cancer incidence in Nigeria is growing and mortality rates are high, in part because most face barriers to accessing high quality medical care, and 80 percent of patients present with late stages of disease that are difficult to treat. I was pleased earlier last month to travel to Nigeria with a team from Milken Institute Health to connect with cancer researchers, care providers, and other stakeholders from the US and Nigeria, all brought together by Nigeria's National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) to discuss partnering and advancing cancer research, prevention, and care in Nigeria. I was deeply impressed by NICRAT and the strategies, plans, and efforts already underway in Nigeria and we look forward to sharing a Milken Institute publication describing the discussion and outcomes from the event later this year. We hope that by working together, we can reduce the burden of cancer in Nigeria and improve the lives of those impacted by cancer. I was honored to be invited to Nigeria by the Honorable Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Honorable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa Alausa and by the Director General of NICRAT, Dr. Usman Aliyu. In collaboration with NICRAT and the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Milken Institute hosted a roundtable on Tackling Cancer Head-On: Implementing Nigeria’s National Strategic Cancer Control Plan 2023-2027 and National Cancer Research Agenda 2024-2028. Together, we explored opportunities for investment and partnerships, considerations and best practices for cancer research and control plan implementation, and began to draw a blueprint for future action so that NICRAT can achieve its goal of transforming the landscape of cancer research and treatment in Nigeria. We concluded our trip by visiting the National Hospital in Abuja and the Federal Medical Center in Jabi. There, we met with hospital leadership and oncology teams. We saw firsthand the incredible efforts to curb cancer in their brachytherapy and radiotherapy centers.    This engagement builds on FasterCures’ ongoing work to catalyze action where challenges in the prevention, early detection and screening, and treatment of cancers exist. Most recently, our work has examined the promise of innovative approaches to the early detection of cancer, like liquid biopsies and multi-cancer early detection.   Thank you to our many collaborators including, Dr. Cheryl Willman, M.D., Dr. Folakemi Odedina (PhD) and Dr. Solomon Rotimi for their ongoing leadership and long-term dedication to cancer research in Nigeria and in fostering such an incredible discussion.   To the entire NICRAT team, thank you for the warm welcome and tremendous hospitality during our time in Nigeria. Brenda Huneycutt, PhD, JD, MPH (she/her) Hadly Clark, MHSA #CancerPrevention #CancerResearch #CancerGenomics

Read this Q&A interview by Clinical Trials Arena with Esther Krofah, executive vice president of Health at the Milken Institute, to learn about the newly released US Food and Drug Administration draft guidance on Diversity Action Plans for clinical trials, and considerations for sponsors and drug developers.

The Milken Institute believes the newly released US Food and Drug Administration draft guidance on Diversity Action Plans creates a pathway for diverse and inclusive clinical trials. Read our statement here: https://lnkd.in/eDNXpA4V We support many of the recommendations in the guidance and note key points for clarification and enforcement. “We look forward to working with the FDA to refine the guidance to maximize the full potential of the Diversity Action Plans,” said Esther Krofah, executive vice president of Health at the Milken Institute. “It is imperative that clinical trials, and thus access to potential treatments and interventions, reflect prevalence and incidence of US intended population, including communities of color and other historically underrepresented populations.” #clinicaltrials #healthequity

At the 27th Milken Institute Global Conference, FasterCures curated public sessions centered around this year's theme, "Shaping a Shared Future." The emerging key health trends were prevention, AI, early cancer detection, and creating more equitable clinical trials. Read this issue brief for more health trends from Global Conference: https://lnkd.in/g6JpgZCv

Great to be at White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Clinical Trials Forum yesterday for the announcement of the FDA draft guidance on Diversity Action Plans. There has been tremendous momentum and leadership since the COVID-19 pandemic on addressing the challenges across the U.S. clinical trials ecosystem to enable more innovative trials that answers questions that matter to patients but also ensure we're closing the gap in access to clinical trial participation across all communities in the U.S. The National Academies latest review since the landmark study on Unequal Treatment, 20 years ago, shows that progress has stalled in addressing the health of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. Such persistent inequalities contribute to millions of pre-mature deaths and costs the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually as the evidence demonstrates. The clinical trials ecosystem needs to be part of the solution in bringing underserved communities into both research and care. We need to leverage multiple access points to reach the community. We need a National Action Plan for Diversity in Clinical Trials and the framework developed by FasterCures, Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), and the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center) and over two hundred stakeholders can serve as a guide for prioritized system-wide collective actions. https://lnkd.in/g9vqwVN4 A new report from Milken Institute further demonstrates that distance continues to remain an obstacle for access to trials and those with high-prevalence of disease are the furthest away. https://lnkd.in/gDG4WDAH Thanks to all the work being done by stakeholders in the research ecosystem with communities and continuing to see progress being made. Ramita Tandon Jeff Allen Silas Buchanan Dr. Elizabeth Ofili Shari Ling

“We need to put humanity back into research,” said Yasmeen Long, director of FasterCures.    Long was invited to speak on a panel at the Ideagen “Future of…Summit” 2024 where she highlighted the work FasterCures is leading to create a more equitable health care ecosystem. Watch a recording of the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/ePWQ3Cvh

Happening soon! On Wednesday, June 26, the White House will host a Clinical Trials Forum. All are invited to join the opening session via livestream from 10:00 – 11:00 am ET at https://lnkd.in/eEByJbpj

A new report by the Milken Institute, "Distance as an Obstacle to Clinical Trial Access: Who is Affected and Why It Matters" is part of a broader effort by FasterCures to increase access to and diversity in #clinicaltrials. We recently released "Toward a National Action Plan for Achieving Diversity in Clinical Trials" and launched Enabling Networks of Research Infrastructure for Community Health through Clinical Trials (ENRICH-CT), a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on driving dialogue and advancing practical solutions for ways the public and private sectors can support more infrastructure in the US for more inclusive clinical research.  Learn more in this news release: https://lnkd.in/gAChf73X