The future of oncology R&D lies in policymakers’ hands

I recently spoke at The Atlantic’s People v. Cancer with Daniel Asch, Vice President of the Oncology Franchise at Boehringer Ingelheim, to discuss the progress we are making to deliver precision medicine in oncology and how it can greatly improve outcomes for cancer patients. Dan and I also examined the policy reforms needed at the federal level to safeguard the future of these remarkable therapies and ensure that they reach the patients who need them most.

Here are my 3 takeaways:

• A strong innovation ecosystem is the key to beating cancer. Policies like strong intellectual property protections can help us preserve that ecosystem.
  
  
• The Inflation Reduction Act is having unintended consequences on R&D. The “pill penalty” in particular threatens promising small molecule medicines in the oncology innovation pipeline.
  
  
• Cancer is personal — both in how it impacts people and in how we can treat it. Nearly everyone knows someone whose life has been upended by cancer. And today, treatments like precision medicine and cell and gene therapies help get the right medicine to the right patient at the right time.

Watch a recap of the conversation below: