Good Day BIO: Cancer deaths have fallen 33%

Cancer deaths are falling—but so are kindergarten vaccination rates. Meanwhile, we’re celebrating 40 years of the Orphan Drug Act. (544 words, 2 minutes, 43 seconds)

Biotech helps cut cancer deaths by 33%

Since peaking in 1991, the cancer death rate in the U.S. has fallen 33%, thanks in great part to biotech advances, says an American Cancer Society (ACS) report released yesterday.

3.8 million—that’s the number of lives saved between 1991-2020, driven by progress against the four most common cancers (lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate).

Advances in treatment and early detection, as well as reductions in smoking, had a large impact, ACS says.

And vaccines led to a big drop in cervical cancer: “Data from women ages 20 to 24 who were first to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine showed a 65% reduction in cervical cancer incidence rates from 2012 through 2019,” says ACS. The vaccine has made cervical cancer “almost completely preventable,” as we’ve reported.

What’s ahead: A little over 1.9 million new cancer cases and 609,820 deaths from cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2023, ACS says.

Challenges remain: We must address racial disparities in cancer rates and outcomes and the interruption to cancer screenings and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bottom line: “Cancer continues to be the second most common cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease,” says ACS. But advances in biotechnology are improving the survival rate and promising new treatments or cures.

More Health News:

A.P.: U.S. kindergarten vaccination rate dropped again, data shows
“Usually, 94% to 95% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, tetanus, and certain other diseases. The vaccination rates dropped below 94% in the 2020-2021 school year, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday found rates dropped again in the 2021-2022 school year, to about 93%.”

Happy 40th, Orphan Drug Act!

The Orphan Drug Act celebrated its birthday last week, marking 40 years of revolutionizing drug development for rare diseases and helping millions of patients.

More than 25 million Americans have a rare disease, says the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). But as each rare disease affects fewer than 200,000 U.S. patients, developing drugs against them was seen as a money-losing proposition.

Enter the Orphan Drug Act—which encourages the development of “orphan drugs” for rare diseases with incentives like tax credits, a waiver of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees, grants for clinical testing, and the opportunity for up to seven years of exclusivity.

An unequivocal success: “Since its enactment in 1983, the number of orphan drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has increased by 1,576%—from just 38 to more than 600 treatments for more than 1,000 rare diseases,” says the Rare Disease Company Coalition.

New discoveries await: The orphan drug designation is benefitting promising drug candidates like the pioneering treatments for sickle cell disease being developed by Pfizer’s Global Blood Therapeutics.

A recent change: The omnibus 2023 spending legislation passed in December requires the FDA to work with drug developers on “advancing the development of efficacy endpoints, including surrogate and intermediate endpoints, for drugs intended to treat rare diseases.” 

Learn more about the Orphan Drug Act’s impact. 

More Reading: Inside the Orphan Drug Revolution

President Biden’s Friday: Meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House. Japan has agreed to increase defense spending, a move that coincides with President Biden’s diplomacy, POLITICO reports.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate have no hearings scheduled.