A new era in cancer

The last few years have seen unparalleled progress in cancer care, with breakthrough research driving major advances in diagnosis and treatment. Next week, on Wednesday, November 8, leading minds in the fight against cancer will come together in Philadelphia for a conversation led by Axios titled, “Future Shapers: A New Era in Cancer Care.” The event is sponsored as part of PhRMA’s GOBOLDLY campaign.

Today, a new era in medicine is revolutionizing how we diagnose, treat and hopefully one day cure the many diseases that make up cancer. The biopharmaceutical pipeline has never been more promising with 79 percent of medicines in development for cancer having the potential to be first in class treatments, introducing entirely new ways to treat disease. Additionally, more than 70 percent of cancer medicines in the pipeline have the potential to be personalized medicines. Just recently, for the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also approved a chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy for certain pediatric and young adult patients with a form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Gene and cell therapies like CAR-T, which rely on the body’s own immune system to fight disease, are further part of an exciting new class of medicines in immuno-oncology.

At next week’s event, former Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will be joined by cancer survivor Stephanie Joho, along with Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee of Johns Hopkins, Sean Parker of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Mark Alles, chief executive officer at Celgene. Each will share their experiences with the disease – from patient to parent, from researcher to funder to caregiver.

The discussion will focus on four key areas – the big idea, integrating the patient voice, maintaining a robust research ecosystem and innovation in biopharmaceuticals.  RSVP to hear about the progress being made day after day by leading minds on the front line of this ongoing fight against cancer.