11 June 2021

The Health Policy Partnership (HPP) was delighted to launch the Radioligand Therapy Readiness Assessment Framework at an online event on 9 June. The launch was an ancillary event to the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 Conference, and we were joined by a stellar panel of international and multidisciplinary experts.

Moderating the event was Suzanne Wait, HPP Managing Director, who opened the session by giving some background to radioligand therapy and the project more widely. Suzanne was followed by Professor Ken Herrmann (Director of the Clinic for Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Essen), who delivered a comprehensive presentation on why we need a framework for radioligand therapy and how we can assess readiness for the therapy. Next up was Josh Mailman (President, NorCal CarciNET Community), with a thought-provoking talk on why radioligand therapy is needed and his own journey as a radioligand therapy patient.

Following the presentations, we moved on to a panel discussion and audience Q&A on what a ready policy environment for radioligand therapy looks like. The panellists were Josh Mailman, Dr Diana Paez (International Atomic Energy Agency), Professor Hein van Poppel (European Association of Urology) and Associate Professor Jolanta Kunikowska (European Association of Nuclear Medicine). This was a lively discussion, with key themes emerging around the importance of multidisciplinary working, training and education, as well as common international guidelines and equitable access to care.

The final session was a discussion of clinical readiness for radioligand therapy in the US, with panellists Dr Ronald Ennis (American Society for Radiation Oncology), Dr Richard Wahl (Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging), Dr Ajay Gopal (University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) and Dr Michael Morris (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center). The conversation again had a clear emphasis on why we need to prioritise multidisciplinary working between all specialists. Michael Morris closed the discussion on a positive note: ‘Now is the time to strike. The iron is hot for new treatments.’

Many thanks to all the speakers for their contributions, to Suzanne Wait for chairing the session, to the HPP team working behind the scenes, and to all the attendees for joining and participating.

Our next event, to launch the UK application of the framework, will take place in September. More information will be coming soon.

Download the framework and user guide.