RACE for Children Act

Source: Solving Kids` Cancer (in collaboration with Kids v Cancer)

SOLVING KIDS’ CANCER’S SUPPORT FOR THE RACE FOR CHILDREN ACT

(Research to Accelerate Cures and Equity for Children Act)

July 15, 2016 – Washington, DC: Solving Kids’ Cancer, in conjunction with Kids v Cancer and the broader childhood cancer community, applauds the introduction of the RACE for Children Act by Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Marco Rubio, Representative Michael McCaul, Representative G.K. Butterfield, Representative Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Sean Duffy.

Pediatric cancer is the number one disease killer of children.  However, kids with cancer cannot currently secure access to the most promising, novel unapproved drugs.

Cancer drug development is rapidly advancing with new understanding of molecular targets. The RACE for Children Act would enable children with cancer to have access to clinical trials of the most promising cancer drugs with appropriate molecular targets.

Unlike almost all Congressional bills, the RACE for Children is not a new program: it is merely an update of the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) so that the law catches up with the science.

PREA requires companies developing drugs for adults to also develop them for children.  However, contrary to Congressional intent, PREA has never applied to cancer because children’s cancers occur in different organs than in adults.  But now that cancer drug development is focused on molecular target, the RACE for Children Act proposes that PREA apply by molecular target as well.

“We are grateful to the legislators who introduced this bill, and we commend them for their role in representing children battling cancer,” said Donna Ludwinski, Director of Research Programs at Solving Kids’ Cancer.  “Our nonprofit is led by parents who have lost children to this devastating disease, not because they had cancer, but because they ran out of options.  The RACE for Children Act may pave the way to providing children with promising alternative options and innovative drugs that they would not have access to otherwise.”

Nancy Goodman, Founder and Executive Director of Kids v Cancer, also noted, “when my 10 year old son, Jacob, was in treatment for a pediatric brain cancer, I was amazed to learn that although there were many exciting brain cancer drug trials that could possibly help Jacob, these drugs were not available to children.  Instead, Jacob received drugs that were 40 years old.”

 

ABOUT SOLVING KIDS’ CANCER
Solving Kids’ Cancer is not just our name, it’s our mission. We focus on aggressive childhood cancers with low survival rates because Every Kid Deserves to Grow Up. Solving Kids` Cancer helps accelerate new, next-generation treatments, including immunotherapy, cancer vaccines, and new drugs by applying an understanding of the entire childhood cancer research landscape to wisely invest in innovative projects.  Visit  www.solvingkidscancer.org, Twitter.com/SolveKidsCancer, or www.facebook.com/solvingkidscancer for more information.

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