U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s establishment of an Oncology Center of Excellence that aims to streamline the development of oncology-related drugs, biologics and devices.
Walden, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the ranking member of the committee, commended the first-ever Oncology Center of Excellence in a joint statement.
“The launch of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence is a key component of 21st Century Cures, a bipartisan law changing the way we treat disease,” the committee leaders said. “As the first designated center with a coordinated review of treatments and care, patients battling cancer will have – and should have – a renewed sense of hope and optimism.”
The Oncology Center of Excellence will bring regulatory scientists and reviewers together to foster an integrated approach to the clinical evaluation of drugs, biologics and devices that are used to treat and cure cancer.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the former committee chairman, and Pallone introduced the FDA Cross-Center Collaboration Act, H.R. 5414, last summer to speed up the discovery, development and delivery of new cures and treatments. Establishment of the Oncology Center of Excellence was consistent with H.R. 5414.