First Cure4Cancer conference to explore international cooperation in the fight against cancer | Asia Society

First Cure4Cancer conference to explore international cooperation in the fight against cancer

Cure4Cancer

NEW YORK; December 1, 2023 — On December 1st, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and the Chinese Thoracic Oncology Group (CTONG) will cohost the first annual Cure4Cancer conference, focusing on advancing global health equity and harmonization. Leveraging enormous collaborative synergy, the inaugural conference will be combined with the 6th annual MSK-CTONG Symposium to foster academic collaboration and cooperation with industry and government stakeholders to advance our mission for the eradication of cancer as a major cause of death in this lifetime. This exciting conference will feature keynotes and panel discussions from high-level industry and government stakeholders, and a full agenda will be released soon. 

Cure4Cancer emerged from a collaboration between ASPI, MSK, CTONG, Bloomberg New Economy, Forbes China, and the Thoracic Oncology Group Australasia (TOGA). Together, these groups realized urgent need for a multi-stakeholder approach to break down barriers and accelerate the development and access to live-saving treatments globally. Many of the 10 million lives lost each year to cancer could be saved through enhanced international cooperation, particularly between the U.S. and China, which have just under four million deaths a year between them. 

According to recent research by the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (CCA), if China were to join the U.S.-led cancer research project Cancer Moonshot and its core initiative Project Orbis, the time needed to roll out new cancer treatments globally would significantly shorten, potentially turning a 10-15-year process into a 2-3 year process.  

The report that outlined this finding, “Advancing Global Health Equity: Enhancing Clinical Trials Access and Cooperation to Save Lives from Cancer,” was co-authored earlier this month by a group of 17 top physicians and researchers involved in the Cure4Cancer task force. Given the overwhelming benefits of having China join Project Orbis, the report authors recommend that policymakers work towards the signing of a limited confidentiality agreement (LCA) between the U.S. and China, a key milestone that would facilitate China’s entry. A recent Forbes article recognized the relevance of the report’s publication ahead of President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping’s meeting at APEC 2023, writing that “the two have much to gain in at least one area: the fight against cancer.” 

Press are encouraged to attend the Cure4Cancer Conference on December 1 and can register for free by emailing [email protected].  

The event will feature the following speakers: 

Tolulope Adewole, MD, Managing Director, NSIA Advanced Medical Services Limited (Medserve), Nigeria

Shelly Anderson, MPM, Hospital President, Memorial Sloan Kettering

Otis Brawley, MD, Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center; Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 39th Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins. 

Stephen Clarke, MD, PhD, Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital; Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia 

Terri Conneran, Founder and Director, KRAS Kickers  

Jennifer Dent, President and CEO, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH)  

Lisa D’Angelis, MD, Chief Physician Executive; Scott M. And Lisa G. Stuart Chair, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

Luis Diaz Jr., MD, Head, Solid Tumor Oncology, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; President Biden's Appointed Member, National Cancer Advisory Board 

Debra Eisenman, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Asia Society; Founding Director and Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute 

David Fredrickson, Executive Vice-President, Oncology Business, AstraZeneca 

Adedayo Joseph, MD, Research Program Director, NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center, Nigeria 

Lillian Leigh, Membership and Advocacy Chair, Board Member, Thoracic Oncology Group Australasia (TOGA) 

Bob Li, MD, Physician Ambassador to China and Asia-Pacific, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University; Senior Fellow on Global Public Health, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute 

Isabel Mestres, CEO, City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can) 

Sebastian Mondaca, MD, Director of the Cancer Institute at Red de Salud UC-Christus; Assistant Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile 

John V. Oyler, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of BeiGene  

Jing Qian, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute; Advisory Board Member, Bloomberg New Economy 

The Hon Dr. Kevin Rudd AC, Australian Ambassador to the United States; Former President and CEO, Asia Society; 26th Prime Minister of Australia 

Orville Schell, Author Ross Director of the Asia Society Center for U.S.-China Relations 

Greg Simon, Distinguished Fellow, Global Public Health, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute; Former President, Biden Cancer Initiative 

Victoria Wolodzko Smart, Senior Vice President of Mission for Susan G. Komen 

Aminu Umar-Sadiq, CEO of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority 

Helen Wheeler, MD, Head, Department of Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital; Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia 

Dr. Yi-Long Wu, MD, President, Expert Committee Chair, Chinese Thoracic Oncology Group; Chief Expert, Former Vice President of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital; Honorary Director of Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Director of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine for Lung Cancer.  

Qing Zhou, MD, PhD, President of Cancer Hospital of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences; Vice-director of Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute (GLCI); Vice-chairman and secretary-general of Chinese Thoracic Oncology Group (CTONG). 

Cure4Cancer Initiative 

Its mission is to accelerate the development of cancer cures and prevention through increased public awareness, cooperation, and regulatory harmonization on patient-centric international clinical trials. 

The Asia Society Policy Institute is the movement’s policy research and operational arm. Other partners include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Bloomberg New Economy, Forbes China, the Chinese Thoracic Oncology Group (CTONG), and the Thoracic Oncology Group Australasia (TOGA).  

The Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis 

Presenting consistently independent and objective analysis with policy impact, the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis prioritizes Chinese language source material, emphasizes third-country analyses of China’s international engagement, and actively engages with counterpart institutions around the world as it aims to become one of the world’s leading centers for the study of China and its global role.