One year after the Moonshot Summit, Lazarex Cancer Foundation announces major advancements in helping cancer patients.
It will be one year ago this week that Vice President Joe Biden gathered some of the nation’s biggest thinkers in the cancer world in Washington D.C. for the Moonshot Summit. Together, with one mission in mind, they brainstormed how to inject urgency into cancer prevention, diagnostics and treatment research.
President Obama announced the cancer Moonshot initiative at his 2016 State of the Union Address, setting aside $1 billion dollars to jumpstart the program. He asked Vice President Joe Biden to lead the initiative, knowing Mr. Biden’s passion for the issue following the death of his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015.
Lazarex Cancer Foundation, a California based non-profit, focused on making experimental cancer treatments more accessible to patients, was one of a handful of organizations to participate in the summit. As a response to the Moonshot Summit in 2016 and the Vice President’s call to action, Here are just a few of the Foundation’s accomplishments in the past year:
- Lazarex Cancer Foundation and ORIEN (Oncology Research Information Exchange Network) created a partnership to address barriers to cancer clinical trials. Together they are working on a comprehensive study known as iMPACT (Improving Patient Access to Cancer Clinical Trials). iMPACT brings together the significant resources of more than 20 academic institutions like Harvard, USC, UCLA, Emory, Rutgers and Drexel University plus medical facilities like Massachusetts General Hospital, policy makers, industry, public health entities and community organizations. The goal is to increase patient participation in cancer clinical trials and bring a more diverse group of patients to those trials by making it easier for patients to access them.
- In September of 2016, California passed AB1823, the new California Cancer Clinical Trials Program, sponsored by Lazarex Cancer Foundation. The new law increases access to cancer clinical trials for patients, especially women and under-represented communities. The law makes California the first in the country to legally recognize the financial burdens afflicting cancer patients seeking treatment in clinical trials.
- In March of 2017, as a result of the work of Lazarex, the FDA issued a letter explaining that reimbursing a patient is neither considered inducement, coercion nor a “benefit”, but rather fair compensation for creating parity and equality in cancer trial access. In April 2017, Rep. Pete Sessions went on the Congressional Record thanking the FDA for stating in it’s letter that it would addresses those concerns of providing greater clarity when FDA finalizes guidance on this issue.
- In late May of 2017, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill called the Texas Cancer Plan, authored by Lazarex Cancer Foundation. It would have reimbursed cancer patients for transportation and lodging when participating in a clinical trial. The bill, however, stalled in the State Senate and legislature adjourned before a final vote.
What’s next?
Lazarex will return to Texas in 2018 to revive the Texas Cancer Plan in the 86th Session. To continue to spur action at the state level, they have their sights set next on Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts. The intention is to create an environment in which each state can provide better assistance to cancer patients in clinical trials. Lazarex also plans to roll out iMPACT in more academic institutions across the country.
Cost is often a primary barrier for patients seeking help. Lazarex believes that by shifting our view of clinical trials and those who volunteer to participate, we can create a shift in outcome for the trials, the treatments and the patients.
