Kerrigan in Morning Consult: Policymakers Must Embolden Innovation to Stamp Out Cancer

By SBE Council at 20 February, 2020, 11:09 am

In a February 19, 2020 Op-ed in Morning Consult, SBE Council president Karen Kerrigan  focuses on the issue of innovation, and how private sector investment, scientists and entrepreneurial biopharmaceutical companies are creating life-saving drugs and therapies that are leading us closer to a cure for cancer:

“Every day, medical innovation and breakthroughs are cracking the code to beating cancer. One of the most exciting therapies available is an immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR-T therapy.”

Currently, the Trump Administration faces a decision about whether to ensure Medicare beneficiaries can access this innovative therapy.  In the piece, Kerrigan notes that this is not only an issue of access to CAR-T for seniors in rural areas, but is a critical innovation issue as well:

“The issue is a critical one for U.S. innovation, as well. We shouldn’t hinder the development of future innovation by failing to properly reimburse providers administering these promising treatments.”

The Trump Administration has a long track record of supporting CAR-T, and Kerrigan writes that a long-term solution must be implemented, and soon.

Read the full piece here.