The #givekidsachancect was passed into law. This is a big win for children with cancer. Thank you all for writing letters and advocating on behalf of the children.

Each year, nearly 16,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. Yet treatment options for children remain extremely limited compared to those for adults. The Give Kids a Chance Act reauthorizes the Food and Drug Administration priority review voucher (PRV) program which allows pharmaceutical companies to expedite FDA review of more profitable drugs in return for developing treatments for rare pediatric diseases. Since the bill’s passage in 2011, 53 PRVs have been awarded for 35 different rare pediatric diseases.

Additionally, thousands of successful drug combination therapies are now being studied and developed for adults, but not for children. The Give Kids a Chance Act also authorizes the FDA to direct companies to study a combinations of cancer drugs and therapies in pediatric trials as well.