ASCO Reaches Out to FDA, NIH, CMS

The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has written to the new heads of FDA, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure continued progress in cancer care, research, and patient access. An ASCO statement says that in its letter to FDA commissioner Martin Makary, the group highlighted the agency’s critical role in ensuring patients have access to safe and effective cancer drugs, biologics, and medical devices.

“As you and your team consider ongoing challenges and potential regulatory responses, we look forward to working with you to address particularly important issues to the cancer care community, including ongoing cancer drug shortages (especially critical in the pediatric cancer patient population), improved access to cancer trials for all patients, and innovative trial designs and evidence generation,” ASCO board chair Eric Winer wrote.