> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# FDA Looking for Ways to Help Cancer Therapies Evolve Safely
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/fda-looking-for-ways-to-help-cancer-therapies-evolve-safely/
- Published: 2021-02-17T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:47:10.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5148680

CBER director **Peter Marks** says FDA is looking for ways to encourage cancer therapies to evolve quickly with enough information coming to the agency that it can be sure that patients are safe while still not holding back development. Marks spoke on a panel at a virtual [meeting](https://friendsofcancerresearch.org/events/shaping-future-emerging-immunotherapies-and-cell-therapies?ref=fdaweb.com) sponsored by Friends of Cancer Research (FoCR) on “Shaping the Future of Emerging Immunotherapies and Cell Therapies.” He also said FDA wants to find ways to allow sponsors to make beneficial product changes as therapies evolve. The agency is also looking at how best to understand ways to clinically develop therapies, he said.

At the beginning of his presentation, Marks cited statistics showing the increase in CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapies from 2015 (20 INDs) to 2020 (58 INDs). He spoke of the maturation of the manufacturing process and said that each year brings new technologies into the CAR T-cell world.

In preparation for the meeting, FoCR released a white paper, “Harmonizing the Definition and Reporting of Cytokine Release Syndrome in Immuno-Oncology Trials” that established a standard approach for defining and capturing cytokine release syndrome.