RACE for Children Act Is Law

On Friday, August 18, 2017, the RACE for Children Act became law, ensuring that novel and exciting new cancer drugs will now be developed not only for adults, but also for children with cancer.

One of the greatest challenges of pediatric cancer research has been a lack of access to novel and exciting drugs. Although cancer research has undergone quantum leaps in the past years, the new and exciting treatments for adults with cancer rarely translate into new treatments for children. As a result, kids with cancer get out-dated treatments that are often forty years old.

The RACE for Children Act will bring new drugs to kids with cancer by authorizing the FDA to require that novel drugs developed for adult cancers also be developed for children with cancer when the molecular targets of the drugs are relevant to childhood cancers.

In addition, the RACE for Children Act will result in tens of millions of new research dollars flowing into pediatric cancer clinical research each year, as drug companies undertake these new pediatric studies.

Thank you to #kidsvcancer for your heroic efforts