Good Day BIO: This cancer ‘vanished in every single patient’

Back to work after recess and the new week begins with a remarkable cancer trial “first” on National Cancer Survivors Day, and how climate’s having an impact on farmers (and what biotech can do about it). (696 words, 3 minutes, 28 seconds)

This cancer ‘vanished in every single patient’

On National Cancer Survivors Day, we learned of a remarkable first in an oncology trial—here’s what happened and what biotech’s doing to ensure we see more cancer survivors.  

Cancer “vanished in every single patient” in a trial of 18 patients with rectal cancer,reported The New York Times yesterday. The trial tested a checkpoint inhibitor developed by a small biotech Tesaro, which was later purchased by BIO member GlaxoSmithKline.

What they’re saying: “I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” said Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, one of the authors of the study results.

Biotech’s working to ensure we see more cancer survivors. As of last year, oncology programs make up about 43% of the clinical development pipeline, and biotech’s working with organizations around the world to ensure cancer innovations get to patients in need.

But we need to remind you: policy proposals like drug price controls could thwart R&D. In fact, if foreign reference pricing had been in place between 2009-2019, a basket of 68 therapies would’ve been reduced to seven, with a disproportionate impact on oncology, rare disease, and neurology, found a Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) study last year.

The absence of price controls in the U.S. leads to more and newer medicines available sooner to Americans. For example, of 65 new oncology drugs launched between 2011-2017, 95% were available in the United States, compared to 75% in the UK and 51% in Japan—two countries on a proposed price index.

The context: Lawmakers are STILL talking about drug price controls—despite the fact that they will harm innovation, and also won’t address the real problems with the cost of health care. 

June is National Cancer Survivors Month. The American Cancer Society provides a number of tools for patients, survivors, and their families, including the Cancer Survivors Network public forum to engage with other patients, and guides for living well after cancer treatment.

More Reading: Rwanda fights cervical cancer with information


More Health Care News:

The Hill: Privately funded pharmaceutical innovation deserves support, not punishment
"The world can sometimes have a short memory, but we must not forget what delivered the most important answers to the COVID-19 pandemic — biomedical innovation. As Congress considers President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it must also consider how to ensure America’s biomedical innovation ecosystem can meet the ever-growing public health challenges of the future."

Biotech can help farmers weather climate change

“Farmers across the U.S. are turning to new tools, tactics, and even crops in an effort to weather the impacts of a changing climate,” reports Axios—and this includes biotechnology. 

The context: Record heat and drought across the U.S. (and around the world) are affecting crops and food supply, a harbinger of what’s to come if we don’t get climate change under control.

And farmers are suffering: “Climbing temperatures caused losses totaling $27 billion in insurance payouts between 1991 and 2017,” says Axios about a study last year.

There are a lot of things farmers can do—from utilizing techniques like cover crops and no-till or low-till farming, as Axios details, to carbon capture and switching to “drought-resistant—or in some cases, water-tolerant—seeds,” developed with biotechnology.

But to advance biotech solutions, we need policy action—to incentivize the adoption of biotech and expedite the regulatory pathways for improved technology solutions and tools, as BIO recently told the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

To get specific: Legislation like the Growing Climate Solutions Act could help advance carbon-capture technology and remove barriers for farmers to access them, while the recently introduced Plant Biostimulant Act would create regulatory pathways to the marketplace.  

The bottom line: “To meet the challenge of climate change, and foster resiliency and sustainability throughout the agricultural value chain, it is crucial to lead with science and U.S. innovation,” says BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath.

More Agriculture and Environment News:

USDA: USDA has provided $700 million to restore sustainable fuel markets hit by pandemic
“The investments include more than $486 million for 62 producers located in socially vulnerable communities.”

President Biden’s Monday: Nothing major on the agenda so far today. He’s scheduled to make his first in-studio appearance on a late-night comedy show on Wednesday, when he appears on Jimmy Kimmel. Meanwhile, the Washington Post explores his relationship with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and what it means for Biden’s agenda.  

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Getting back to work this week after the recess. Looking ahead, on Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will mark up its legislation to reauthorize the FDA user fee agreements.