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Advanced Medical Technology Association Extends Its Expertise to the Moonshot Initiative

June 2016, Vol 6, No 6

A letter sent to Vice President Joe Biden on behalf of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) on March 31, 2016, by J.C. Scott, Senior Executive Vice President, Government Affairs of AdvaMed, expresses the organization’s support for the new National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The letter offers the organ­ization’s medical knowledge and technical expertise through its armamentarium of diagnostic tests, imaging technology, radiation therapy, and surgical treatments—all of which can help to achieve the initiative’s primary objectives.

“Our companies’ goal is to ensure that, as this much-needed discussion on the future of cancer care continues, the capabilities, products and care options provided by the medical technology sector are not lost in the minds of the Task Force and policymakers who might ultimately execute any specific proposals developed by the initiative,” Mr Scott notes.

The letter underlines the importance of diagnostics for detecting cancer in a timely manner and its role in precision medicine for identifying patients who are at risk for specific cancers and patients who would benefit most from certain cancer treatments.

“AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products, and health information systems that are transforming health care….In terms of cancer care, our member companies produce products and technologies that support cancer patients and their healthcare providers through oncology research, diagnosis, radiotherapy treatments, surgery, and follow up care,” Mr Scott emphasizes.

Improving access to radiation therapy, which has been largely underutilized, can save millions of life-years and billions of dollars over the next 20 years, according to the letter. AdvaMed hopes to meet with the initiative’s task force to serve as a resource to the task force and explore how cancer care can be improved through medical technologies.

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