Curing Cancer Takes A Global Village: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Note: President Joe Biden in February launched a “Cancer Moonshot” initiative that aims to reduce the death rate from cancer by 50% in the next 25 years. This is a part of a series of posts with cancer experts offering suggestions to help the Moonshot succeed. The related, upcoming 3^rd Forbes China Healthcare Summit” on August 27 (August 26 ET) will address “New International Directions For A Reignited Moonshot” as its main theme this year. Registration is free. For more information, please contact: [email protected]

BeiGene CEO and co-founder John V. Oyler made a mark in the international fight against cancer by leading the first company to have a drug developed in China obtain FDA approval — the anti-cancer drug, Brukinsa, in 2019. BeiGene is global company with administrative offices Basel, Beijing and Cambridge.

The Pennsylvania-born entrepreneur’s success – he has a fortune worth more than $1 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list – has given him insights into the role of accessibility of clinical trials for promising new cancer drugs to large populations both in the U.S. and globally.

“Enrolling in a clinical trial is out of reach for many patients,” Oyler noted in written comments about the Cancer Moonshot. “Trials are often run predominantly at major clinical centers, and an unintended outcome is that the participants are limited in terms of types of cancer, race or ethnicity, geography and socio-economic background. Many more hospitals and community oncology practices treating patients with cancer should be supported and equipped to participate in clinical trials, he said. This would reduce barriers to participating in clinical trials and allow all patients to receive the innovative investigational medicines, while also improving the diversity in patient populations and the robustness of data,” he said.

“This means that the industry must forge relationships with community hospitals and physicians, to help them build expertise and capabilities to participate in clinical trials and contribute high-quality data,” Oyler suggested. For its part, BeiGene last year launched a Clinical Trial Diversity Initiative to support training for clinicians and staff in underserved communities, patient education, and advocacy efforts.

In addition, Oyler said, “Accelerating science and innovative therapies for all requires continuing to advance multi-regional clinical trials that enable the industry to expedite enrollment by providing a broader population of potential trial participants and enabling more diverse racial and ethnic representation.”

“As the industry expands the quality of clinical trial participant recruitment in the U.S., it’s important to highlight that investments in the U.S. alone will not be enough to fight cancer. In developed economies like the U.S., there is a growing shortage of people eligible for clinical trials, as many have access to medicines outside a clinical trial setting, there are fewer ‘treatment naïve’ patients, and clinical trials are often limited to major medical centers,” Oyler said.

BeiGene, for instance, has trial sites in 45 countries and, to date, has received approval from regulatory authorities covering 50 countries and regions for Brukinsa.

Further, he said, the industry — in collaboration with health authorities and regulators — must continue to explore how to better prioritize patient-reported outcomes and developing tools to quantify patient experience and quality of life measures. “One example of this is the ongoing conversations with stakeholders led by the FDA in its Patient Focused Drug Development initiative,” Oyler said.

Finally, while the ambitious aims of the Cancer Moonshot are both “noble and vital,” it is equally important to consider how to expand access to existing medicines – an effort he calls. “Project Groundshot.”

“This is why we recently joined the Access to Oncology Medicines Coalition, an initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control to build supply capacity and expand access to lifesaving cancer therapies in low- and middle-income countries. Initiatives like the coalition underscore the potential for public- private partnerships to bridge a geographic gulf in cancer care,” he concluded.

See related posts:

Meet The Scientist Coordinating Joe Biden’s New Cancer Moonshot

“Why Is Cancer Less Important To Cure Faster Than Covid?”: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Innovative Solutions To Cancer Require Innovative Finance: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Incentivize The Fight Against Cancer That Affects Kids: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Break Through Barriers To Drive Progress: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Social Justice, Outreach, Global Collaboration: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Biden Deserves Credit For Taking On Cancer: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Accelerate Cures Through International Collaboration In Clinical Trials: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

Close The Gap Between Discovery Research And Patient Care: Cancer Moonshot Pathways

@rflannerychina