Preparing newborn screening for the future: a collaborative stakeholder engagement exploring challenges and opportunities to modernizing the newborn screening system

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Projections that 60 transformative cell and gene therapies could be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within 10 years underscore an urgent need to modernize the newborn screening (NBS) system. This study convened expert stakeholders to assess challenges to the NBS system and propose solutions for its modernization. METHODS: NBS stakeholders (researchers, clinicians, state NBS leaders, advocates, industry professionals, and current/former advisory committee members) participated in one of five mixed-stakeholder panel discussions. Prior to panels, participants completed a survey in which they reviewed and ranked NBS challenges generated from relevant literature. During panels, participants deliberated on challenges and explored potential solutions. Pre-panel survey data were analyzed descriptively. Data from panel discussions were analyzed using a rapid qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Median scores of the ranked challenges (1 = most important) reveal the top three most important barriers to address: critical missing data for NBS decision-making (Median = 2), burden on state NBS laboratories (Median = 3), and the amount of time required for state-level implementation of screening for new conditions (Median = 4). Panel discussions were rooted in recurring themes: the infant’s well-being should be the focal point; the transformative therapy pipeline, although undeniably positive for individuals with rare diseases, is a threat to NBS capacity; decisions about modernizing NBS should be evidence-based; additional financial support is required but not sufficient for modernization; and modernization will require participation of multiple NBS stakeholders. This final overarching theme is reported in depth, including expertise, coordination, and collaboration challenges facing NBS and novel approaches to oversight, partnership, and coordination that were suggested by participants. CONCLUSIONS: This study engaged representatives from multiple stakeholder groups to generate potential solutions to challenges facing NBS in the United States. These solutions provide a rich starting point for policy makers and other stakeholders who desire to maximize the impact of new transformative therapies for babies, families, and society. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-03035-x.