Newsletter

FasterCures Quarterly — July 2025

FasterCures

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In This Newsletter 

Program Updates
Events and Convenings Recaps
Recent Publications 
Policy Updates
New Staff 
FasterCures in the Media
FasterCures in the Community 
Upcoming Events
 

Program Updates

Celebrating Two Decades of The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network

In celebration of The Research Acceleration and Innovation Network’s (TRAIN) 20th anniversary, each month we are sharing TRAIN Impact Stories featuring reflections from members across our network. Emily Kramer-Golinkoff (cofounder, Emily's Entourage), Wen Hwa Lee (CEO and chief scientist, Action Against AMD), Debi Brooks (CEO and cofounder, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research), Kari Luther Rosbeck (president and CEO, TSC Alliance), and Michael Hund (CEO, EB Research Partnership) have each shared how participating in TRAIN has helped advance their organizations' missions and amplify their impact.

Events and Convenings Recaps

Milken Institute Global Conference 2025

In May, the Milken Institute hosted its 28th annual Global Conference in Los Angeles. Centered around Toward a Flourishing Future, this year’s conference convened leaders from across sectors to explore solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges and identify opportunities to build a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future for all. View all public session recordings online.

FasterCures curated four public sessions during the three-day event. For detailed descriptions and recordings, visit the session links below.

Patient Engagement with CMS Workshop Summary and Webinar Series

In April, FasterCures hosted an in-person workshop to provide patient organizations with the tools and insights needed to engage effectively with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The event featured expert panels discussing strategies for CMS engagement, real-world case studies from patient organizations, and an interactive group discussion with panelists. If you could not attend or want to revisit sessions, recordings of the panel discussions will be available soon on the FasterCures website.

Over the next few months, FasterCures will continue this work through a series of webinars on key topics related to patient organizations and CMS engagement that were of particular interest to workshop attendees. Each session will dive into a critical topic—building effective coalitions, collecting patient experience data, and navigating state-level policy—offering real-world insights and actionable strategies to elevate the patient voice in CMS activities and decisions. These webinars are designed for patient organization that fund or advance biomedical research and development.

FasterCures Introduces Medtech Patient Engagement Framework

On June 11, FasterCures hosted a virtual convening, Defining the Value and ROI of Patient Engagement in Medtech Product Development, to gather public comments on a draft framework that outlines how and where patient engagement can drive impact across the total product life cycle of medtech research and development (R&D) activities—from early-stage development to post-market decisions. This convening also featured a group of medical device and patient organization presenters sharing their experiences of engaging patients in their R&D activities and the impact of doing so. The draft framework will be part of a future toolkit for medtech companies that want to improve their patient engagement strategies. 

FasterCures Convenes Expert Roundtable to Explore the Future of Cancer Care

On June 13, FasterCures convened a private roundtable with experts across the cancer care continuum to pressure-test preliminary research findings on the impact of innovative diagnostics, such as blood-based liquid biopsy. The group reflected on the key impacts of liquid biopsy on the future of cancer care and identified key challenges and barriers to widespread adoption of these technologies. Insights from the roundtable discussion will be embedded in a report expected to be released in the fall 2025.

Industry Leaders Share Progress and Challenges in Increasing Access and Representation in Clinical Trials

On April 22, FasterCures hosted a virtual roundtable, Action Plans for Inclusion and Representation in Clinical Trials: Where Are We Now?, bringing together pharmaceutical industry leaders to discuss their evolving strategies for improving access to and representation in clinical trials. Despite shifts in the regulatory landscape, companies remain committed to transparency, community engagement, and advancing trial access grounded in data and science. This roundtable is part of FasterCures’ ongoing efforts to support collaboration and accelerate progress toward more representative and accessible clinical research.

Milken Institute Hosts Advisory Council Roundtable on Preventive Health in the UK

Earlier this year, the Milken Institute hosted an Advisory Council Roundtable on Preventative Health in London to explore scalable and sustainable solutions for preventive health care in the UK. Discussions focused on unlocking funding, addressing social determinants of health, and creating community health hubs. Key recommendations included expanding access to private capital through blended finance models, investing in upstream drivers such as housing and nutrition, and piloting community-based hubs to deliver screenings and health services. These insights will help shape future prevention-focused initiatives across the UK.

Convergence Project Hosts Event Focused on Improving Access to Clinical Trials

On June 10, The Convergence Project held a virtual event, From Barriers to Breakthroughs: Funding, Resources, and Support to Improve Clinical Trial Access and Innovation, hosted by FasterCures in partnership with The Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center (the MRCT Center) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard. Over 140 virtual attendees joined to hear discussions featuring leaders from across the clinical trial ecosystem, including patient advocacy and community-serving organizations, foundations, venture capital, digital health, and pharmaceutical companies. Speakers included senior leaders from Pfizer, Walgreens, Mural Health, Paradigm Health, American Cancer Society, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and National Medical Association, among others. 

Several key topics were discussed, including:

  • Strategies to address financial barriers in clinical trials, highlighting the need for holistic financial support to address the social needs of clinical participants and their caregivers
  • Sustainable funding and long-term partnerships, with practical examples of successful ongoing collaboration
  • Overcoming financial barriers in clinical trials by leveraging community-based initiatives, storytelling, and evidence-based and data-driven approaches
  • Cross-sector collaboration, bidirectional industry and community partnerships, sustainability, and demonstrating measurable health outcomes
  • The need for creative funding solutions, including public-private partnerships and venture capital
  • Nontraditional approaches, persistence, and strategic partnerships to navigate funding challenges and drive innovation in clinical trials
  • The critical importance of the patient voice, community insights, and maintaining a focus on varying population needs to adapt to changing funding environments
  • The need for continued collaboration and innovation to drive better science and improve health outcomes for all

FasterCures, the MRCT Center, and the Convergence Project partners are grateful to all the speakers and attendees for this timely event.

Recent Publications

FasterCures Report Highlights Urgent Need to Scale Preventive Care

FasterCures released Scaling and Sustaining Better Health Outcomes Through Prevention, a report underscoring the need to shift from treatment-focused care to prevention-first models to reduce preventable illness, address disparities, and reduce costs. Key strategies include leveraging community health workers, building trusted partnerships, using data-driven tools, and addressing basic needs. The report also outlines principles and actions for scaling these efforts, including sustainable funding and value-based care models. This work informs the Milken Institute’s Project Prevent Collaborative, which is expanding prevention-focused partnerships and policies nationwide.

Policy Updates

First Cup with FasterCures

FasterCures’ First Cup is a quarterly, invite-only breakfast where policy experts can network and engage with colleagues across sectors in targeted discussions to accelerate biomedical innovation. On June 25, FasterCures’ First Cup hosted Grace Graham, deputy commissioner for policy, legislation, and international affairs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Drawing on her legislative experience, Graham explained how her office now shapes domestic policy, advises on international regulatory collaboration, and ensures that emerging science translates smoothly into practice.

Milken Institute Issues Statement on US Federal Investment in Biomedical Research

For nearly a century, active US federal investment in biomedical research has delivered breakthroughs that cure diseases, improve quality of life, and drive economic growth. The Milken Institute supports robust federal funding for biomedical research and a strong regulatory science framework in the United States, driven by the recognition and urgency that patients’ lives depend on it. In recent decades, we have witnessed an unprecedented pace of innovation that has transformed how we treat and prevent disease. Proposed federal cuts to biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and across our broader research enterprise and regulatory agencies risk significantly stalling that progress. The Milken Institute remains committed to serving as a thought partner in efforts to align federal biomedical research investment and improve results.

Milken Institute Health Outlines Recommendations to CMS on Advancing Health Technology

Milken Institute Health responded to Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem. The response outlines key recommendations to improve care delivery, especially for older adults and underserved populations, and accelerate access to biomedical innovation, including: 

  1. Create a CMS-FDA interoperable data platform: Develop a shared digital infrastructure linking clinical, claims, and electronic health record data to accelerate research, streamline approvals, refine payment models, and improve patient access to therapies.
  2. Develop a person-centered digital health roadmap: Convene experts to design a roadmap that connects digital health tools to older adults' needs across prevention, detection, and chronic care—supporting greater independence and adoption.
  3. Establish a “digital front door”: Define actionable home-generated data, build interoperable platforms, and promote integrated tools to unify fragmented digital health systems for personalized, coordinated care.
  4. Fund evidence pilots and modernize payment pathways: Support state-led pilot programs and update Medicare/Medicaid benefits to incentivize connected-home technology adoption and measure their impact on health outcomes.

FasterCures Joins Initiative to Modernize Screening Measurement

FasterCures joined the Alliance for Screening Measurement Modernization (ASMM). The ASMM will bring together organizations from across the health-care sector to explore a broader framework for the timely integration of evidence into currently endorsed national health- screening policies. 

FasterCures Responds to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Draft Guidance

FasterCures submitted comments in response to CMS’s draft guidance on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (MDPNP) for 2026–2028. The letter urges CMS to embed meaningful, transparent, and scientifically grounded patient engagement into its drug price negotiation and broader coverage decision processes.

FasterCures offers three main recommendations:

  1. Increase transparency: Clearly communicate how patient input from listening sessions and surveys informs price negotiation decisions.
  2. Leverage FDA collaboration: Adapt and expand proven FDA patient engagement practices, especially for complex drugs such as biologics.
  3. Build long-term patient engagement infrastructure: Establish a formal Office of Patient Engagement within CMS to support ongoing, structured involvement of patients in coverage decisions beyond the MDPNP.

New Staff

Meet FasterCures’ Newest Team Member

Please join us in welcoming FasterCures’ new associate director, Ainslie Tisdale. Tisdale is supporting FasterCures’ nonprofit capacity-building portfolio, which includes TRAIN, LeadersLink, and the Rare As One Mentorship Program, as well as FasterCures’ patient engagement work.

FasterCures in the Media

FasterCures in the Community

Members of our team have been recognized externally and taken part in a diverse mix of speaking engagements.

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Upcoming Events 

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