Regulations, Open Data and Healthcare Innovation: A Case of MSK-IMPACT and Its Implications for Better Cancer Care

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The advancement in both science and technology has contributed to the development of novel diagnostic technologies; such technologies enable medical practitioners to diagnose diseases that could not be previously detected. However, in order to translate new technologies into practical applications, various types of challenges need to be overcome. To address these challenges, including those in clinical management and regulatory science, healthcare policies have been constantly implemented to promote the practical application of outcomes generated by healthcare innovation. This study conducted comparative analyses of three tumor profiling tests approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017, hypothesizing that the FDA’s regulatory reforms, early application of new technologies to both research and clinical settings, and open data accumulated as a result of large-scale research programs have promoted new drug development in oncology. The study then discussed the implications potentially suggested by the outcomes and challenges of the three tests. ABSTRACT: This study investigated a case of Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT), a tumor profiling test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017, to examine what factors would contribute to healthcare innovation. First, we set the following three parameters to observe cases: (i) the FDA regulatory reforms, (ii) early application of new technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), to both research and clinical settings, and (iii) accumulation of open data. Then, we performed a comparative analysis of MSK-IMPACT with FoundationOne CDx and Oncomine Dx Target Test, both of which were FDA-approved tumor profiling tests launched in 2017. As a result, we found that MSK-IMPACT secures neutrality as a non-profit organization, achieves the active incorporation of basic research results, and performs superiorly in clinical operations, such as patient enrollment. On the contrary, we confirmed that FoundationOne CDx was the most prominent case in terms of the number of new drugs and expanded indications approved in which the FDA’s expedited approval programs were considerably utilized. Consequently, to uncover the full potential of MSK-IMPACT, it is suggested that more intersectoral collaborative activities between various healthcare stakeholders, in particular, pharmaceutical companies, for driving clinical development must be carried out based on an organizational framework that facilitates collaboration.