ASCO recommends new incentives for pediatric trials

The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends that pediatric cancer trials begin sooner and that eligibility for the pediatric patent extension program be extended. In a letter to the Energy & Commerce Committee regarding its Path to 21st Century Cures Initiative, ASCO said pediatric cancer trials for promising new agents should begin while adult trials are ongoing, not after they've been completed.

ASCO also called for the pediatric patent extension program to be revised, noting that the current program extends the patent of a drug if it can be used for the same disease in children. It recommended extending patents for drugs that can effectively treat pediatric cancers, even if the adult indication is different. "Children often do not suffer from the same diseases as adults," the letter said, but "some of the molecular targets of adult and pediatric cancers are the same" (see BioCentury This Week, June 1). ...