Beyond the Mainstream: Addressing Neglected Tumor Types

Neglected tumor types sit in a complicated space: high unmet need, often devastating outcomes, and too often, too little sustained investment. In this panel, leaders spanning patient advocacy, biopharma R&D, commercialization, delivery innovation, and regulatory law worked toward a shared “operational definition” of neglect, unpacked why neglect persists, and surfaced practical solutions that can convert overlooked tumor areas into credible development and access pathways.

A key throughline was that “innovation” in neglected tumors often means something different than it does in mainstream, crowded disease areas. As moderator Michael Parisi noted, in some settings, innovation may mean not only the arrival of a new treatment, but it may also be the first treatment ever for that disease. When the bar is low, innovation may even mean “access to existing therapies that are delivered differently.”