It has been a busy year so far for the FasterCures team as we advance programs to lower unnecessary barriers to progress and accelerate biomedical innovations to all patients. Our team has convened experts from across multiple sectors, published white papers and issue briefs, and been interviewed by national media.

The Milken Institute recently held our 25th annual Global Conference, a multi-day gathering of the top leaders in finance, health, and innovation. The sessions covered diverse topics and centered on the theme of “Celebrating the Power of Connection.”

Since you’re in our FasterCures community, there is one Global Conference session I think might be of particular interest to you: Beyond the Pandemic: Health and Medicine in a Connected World. Moderated by Milken Institute Chairman Mike Milken, this panel covers how the COVID-19 pandemic revealed we were bound together globally in a common experience, interdependent to a degree that few appreciated, both in the spread of the disease and its resolution.  

We were honored to have Kasey Altman, founder of the Kasey Altman Research Fund and host of the Reroute Podcast, open the Making the Business Case for Patient Engagement session. Kasey, a patient advocate with a rare cancer diagnosis, shared her impassioned story of engaging and advocating for yourself throughout treatment. While writing this message, we received the devastating news of Kasey’s untimely passing. She brought so much light to the world and will remain an inspiration and reminder in the work we do.

As always, I am grateful for your support of FasterCures, our team, and our mission.

Regards,

Esther Krofah
Executive Director
FasterCures and Center for Public Health
Milken Institute

Watch Sessions From Global Conference On Demand

The 25th annual Milken Institute Global Conference took place May 1-4, 2022, and convened the best minds in the world to tackle urgent global challenges and envision exciting opportunities to make positive change. The event brought together individuals with the capital, power, and influence to catalyze change in how we think about health, finance, technology, philanthropy, industry, and media. Throughout the past two years, the pandemic transformed the way we convene, collaborate, and connect—sparking both innovation for what’s next and gratitude for what once was. The 25th annual Global Conference centered on “Celebrating the Power of Connection.” Watch the recordings of all public sessions.  

Read FasterCures’ Recent Publications

So far this year, FasterCures has published seven reports covering topics from global health to cell and gene therapy to diversity in clinical trials. We encourage you to share these reports with your networks.

• Building Community-Based Infrastructure for Inclusive Research: Lessons from the Pandemic for Federal Action

• A Global Early Warning System for Pandemics: A Blueprint for Coordination

• Policy Issue Brief: A Call to Action for Diversity in Clinical Trials

• Models for Financing Antibiotic Development to Address Antimicrobial Resistance

• Landscape of Trust: Health Data Frameworks

• Strengthening the Biomedical Innovation Ecosystem: A Scorecard for System Assessment

• Cell and Gene Therapies: Looking Ahead to 2022

Welcome the Newest Cohort for FasterCures’ LeadersLink Program

FasterCures’ LeadersLink is designed to build individual leadership skills of emerging leaders of patient-centered, nonprofit organizations that fund or conduct medical research. This year’s cohort will focus on building patient health data resources. Please join us in welcoming the new cohort:

• Chandra Clark, Executive Director, VHL Alliance

• Beth Lewin Dean, CEO, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE Epilepsy)

• Eszter Hars, PhD, President and CEO, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Alliance Inc.

• Kirk Nylen, Vice President, Research and Informatics, Ontario Brain Institute

• Kapila H. Viges, CEO, MPN Research Foundation

• Kate Wears, President, Myhre Syndrome Foundation

FasterCures’ Policy Update on ARPA-H

The Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on the proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) on February 8, 2022. ARPA-H, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), seeks to speed the development of medical treatments by funding innovative projects. Esther Krofah, FasterCures’ executive director, was among the witnesses who testified before the committee outlining recommendations to facilitate the agency’s success. Read her testimony and watch the hearing. Esther’s formal remarks begin at minute 42.

Key takeaways from the testimony included:

• Housing ARPA-H within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to access NIH infrastructure, personnel, programs, and expertise.

• Qualities to look for in the first ARPA-H leader, such as a visionary leader who can inspire and empower a new team directing milestone-driven initiatives and someone with a proven track record of success who can also manage through failures.

• The need for an advisory board composed of a broad collection of stakeholders, including representatives from underserved minority communities who can define the most critical problems to be solved.

• The need for consistent, sustainable funding beyond the initial three years.

• The importance of collaborating with existing government agencies (such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and working with the private sector.

Since the hearing, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has formally announced that ARPA-H will be housed with the NIH and appointed Adam H. Russell as the ARPA-H acting deputy director.

FasterCures Welcomes New Staff Members

We welcomed two new members to the FasterCures team this year.

Amanda Wagner Gee, Associate Director

Amanda Wagner Gee is an associate director at FasterCures, working on health equity in clinical trials and community-based research. Her expertise is in areas related to clinical and preclinical research and infrastructure. Prior to joining FasterCures, she worked at the National Academies on the Forum for Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation on projects related to the clinical trials enterprise, real-world data and real-world evidence, and patient- and participant-engagement. She began her career as a research scientist working on drug discovery with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the NIH. She received her master’s degree in cell biology from Duke University.

Erika Stratmann, Director

Erika Stratmann is the director of communications for FasterCures and the Center for Public Health. She is a mission-driven communications and content development leader with more than a decade of experience advancing consumer education, community engagement, and advocacy campaigns. Prior to joining the Milken Institute, she was a senior advisor at AARP Foundation, where she led the marketing of Connect2Affect.org and directed communications to help low-income older adults gain access to public benefits. Previously, Stratmann worked with AARP District of Columbia managing the multi-channel communications and marketing efforts to reach and engage 89,000 members, community partners, and stakeholders. She also served as advisor to AARP’s senior vice president of State and Community Engagement, creating strategic internal communications and overseeing the development and implementation of nationwide projects. Additionally, she worked for five years with AARP’s Government Affairs team, contributing to both state and federal advocacy wins, including health reform. Stratmann has a Bachelor of Social Work from West Virginia University and master’s degrees in social work and public administration from the University of South Carolina.

Get TRAIN Updates with Their Latest Newsletter

The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network (TRAIN) is an affinity network of foundations interested in taking a more strategic and entrepreneurial approach—what some refer to as "venture philanthropy"—to their role as funders of medical research. Stay up to date on news from TRAIN and TRAIN organizations by reading the June 2022 issue of the TRAIN eNews.

Join Us for FasterCures New Advances in Science Webinar Series

The Milken Institute’s FasterCures and Center for Public Health are convening esteemed scientists and medical thought leaders for a monthly/bimonthly scientific overview session. Hosted by Robert W. Eisinger, NIH, the webinar series will probe key issues, lessons learned, and opportunities for transformation in health. Register for the upcoming session.

Save the Date: 2022 Milken Institute Partnering for Patients Forum and the Future of Health Summit

This year, the Milken Institute Partnering for Patients Forum will be hosted in Washington, DC, on December 6, and will kick-off our Future of Health Summit, taking place from December 7-8, 2022. The Forum will shine a light on the latest biomedical innovation advances, needs and ideas generated by and for the patient community. The Future of Health Summit convenes the best minds in the world to confront the most significant health challenges by matching human, financial, and scientific resources with innovative, inclusive, and impactful ideas. Registration information will be available soon.

FasterCures in the News

• Biogen Alzheimer’s Drug Coverage Threatens Minorities’ Access (Bloomberg Law)

• Covid Year Three Will Be Better, Experts Agree, Unless Rich Countries Ignore the Pandemic Elsewhere (Forbes)

• NIH’s Identity Crisis: The Pandemic and the Search for a New Leader Leave the Agency at a Crossroads (Stat News)

• Here's How We Prevent the Next, Inevitable Pandemic (Fox News)

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