ASCO 2024: Showcasing the promise of biopharmaceutical R&D

This year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting was an opportunity to explore all the progress we have made in the fight against cancer and what we need to do to keep up the momentum. Here’s a recap:  

During the event, PhRMA held a media briefing to examine the state of oncology R&D and discuss needed reforms to ensure that patients can access new therapies and treatments. Alongside Robert M. Davis, Chief Executive Officer and President, Merck & Co. Inc., Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Execlutive Officer, Gilead Sciences, Inc., and David Ricks, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company, I stressed the need for policies that prioritize patients and strengthen the industry’s innovation pipeline.  

As we look ahead, here is what I took away from ASCO and our briefing: 

1. We are making incredible progress on lung cancer. There were many positive results reported that will significantly improve the outlook for patients. Medicines are continuing to transform the outlook for patients with lung cancer. One data readout demonstrated a medicine increased the amount of time non-small cell lung cancer patients are living without disease progression by 84%.  
2. There is a new standard of care for breast cancer. Clinical trial results indicate the potential for new treatments for patients with HR-positive, metastatic breast cancer with low or ultra-low levels of HER2.  
3. We are building on mRNA vaccine success to tackle cancer. A new mRNA vaccine – in combination with an immunotherapy injection – to tackle melanoma shows immense promise.

These types of innovations are what’s contributing to the 33% decline we’re seeing in cancer deaths since peaking in 1991. While we’re seeing immense progress in the oncology space, recent policies stand to erode this innovation, like the price setting provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. Patients deserve policies that protect future innovation.  

Read more about the work we’re doing to ensure every cancer patient has access to the medicines they need to live happier and more productive lives here.