Lupus Foundation of America Event Calls for More Progress for Patients

Optimism and hope. That’s what NBC’s Chuck Todd took away from the Lupus Foundation of America’s National Advocacy Awards Dinner on June 16. Todd moderated a thoughtful discussion among health care leaders about initiatives aimed at accelerating new treatments and cures for lupus and many other diseases. 

PhRMA’s John Castellani was honored with an award for advocacy leadership and participated on the esteemed panel alongside Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), Mary Woolley, president & CEO of Research!America, Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D, director of the National Institutes of Health and Susan Manzi, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Medicine at Allegheny Health Network.

The panelists acknowledged that tremendous progress has been made in recent years to bring new and better options to patients, but emphasized that – for the sake of patients – more must be done. The funding and processes for reviewing and approving new medicines must keep pace with advancements in science. 

As Castellani noted during the panel, by working together to develop, evaluate and deliver new medicines, our collective ecosystem will be able to bring cures and treatments to patients suffering from lupus and other chronic diseases faster and in a better way than ever before. 

For more on the event, I invite you to read the Lupus Foundation of America’s blog post and view the video.