2026 CGTS Agenda
REGISTRATION
BREAKFAST AND NETWORKING
BREAKTHROUGH OR ME-TOO? EVALUATING ONCOLOGY SCIENCE THROUGH A VALUE LENS
This presentation examines recent approvals and emerging therapies through a value-based framework focused on differentiation, clinical impact, and system value by addressing the following:
Which innovations truly change outcomes?
Which merely expand options?
Which deserve premium reimbursement?
Which create measurable value for patients and the healthcare system?
Moderator:
Doug Long, Former Vice President, Industry Relations IQVIA
Faculty:
Cheryl Ann Allen, BS Pharm, MBA, Partner, Curatio Advisors
Matt Saylor, PharmD, BCOP, Sr Director – Drug Insights and Quality Initiatives, Pharmacy, Texas Oncology
OPENING COMMENTS: WHEN LEADERS LEAD, MARKETS FOLLOW
Burt Zweigenhaft, PhD, DLitt, Co-Founder & Executive Director, AVBCC
AS LEADERS LEAD, MARKETS FOLLOW: FORECAST ON WHAT THE CANCER CARE ECOSYSTEM WILL LOOK BEYOND 2027
As oncology moves post-ASP, the focus shifts to transparency and comprehensive financial risk. This high-level strategy session looks at the real-world data and forecasts for the oncology ecosystem, evaluating where innovation and affordability can finally intersect. Also opining on the impact artificial intelligence will have on the human intelligence.
Moderator:
Michael Kolodziej, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Canopy
Faculty:
Jeffrey Scott, MD, President & Chief Medical Officer, Integra Connect
Barbara McAneny, MD, Past President, American Medical Association; Co-Chair, ONCare Alliance; CEO, New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants
Lucio Gordan, MD, President & Managing Physician, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
Davey Daniel, MD, Chief Medical Officer, OneOncology
Lalan Wilfong, MD, CMO Navista
Les Busby MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, US Oncology
STATE OF THE PATIENT: HOW ARE WE REALLY DOING?
An unabashed inside look at the real-world trends and circumstances facing cancer patients.
Moderator:
Katrina Johnson, US Director – Advocacy and Professional Relations, Pfizer
Faculty:
Christine Verini, RPh, CEO, CancerCare
Alan Balch, PhD, Executive Chairman, Patient Advocate Foundation
Maimah Karmo, Founder & CEO, Tigerlilly Foundation
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYERS IN DIRECT CONTRACTING AND CANCER CARE MANAGEMENT
Self-insured employers are struggling. They seek to purchase the correct care at a fair price in a rapidly evolving treatment marketplace. Even trusted intermediaries have a hard time keeping up with the pace of change. Meanwhile, cancer has become the major driver of high-cost claims, and the incidence of the condition impacting the lives of plan members is growing. Direct contracting with providers and focused intermediaries can help them keep up while reducing costs can be a solution. Reporting that helps them understand cancer care delivery in the marketplace and its impact on disability, as well as care costs, can provide a sense of greater managerial understanding than is available today.
Moderator:
Art Taft, MBA, MEng, Managing Director, Medworks Consulting
Faculty:
Greg Green, Director of Business Development, MSK Direct, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Robert Baird, RN, MSA, President, National Cancer Treatment Alliance
Eric Rosenberg, Former Director, Integrated Analytics, Workpartners
Joe O’Hara, MBA, Chief Commercial Officer, Vantris Health
HOW ONCOLOGY BECAME THE “UNPROTECTED” CLASS AND WILL IT REMAIN?
Oncology has long held privileged status as one of Medicare Part D’s six protected classes, but that protection is now under quiet siege. With 9 key cancer agents already affected by negotiation and more to come, CMS is forcing price erosion and bending formulary dynamics in key tumors. Part D benefit redesign and PBM reform are fundamentally altering payer incentives. CMMI proposed MFN models explicitly target protected classes. This panel will debate a hard question: Is oncology still a protected class in a meaningful sense, and what does the next wave of access barriers look like for patients, prescribers, and manufacturers?
Moderator:
Milena Sullivan, Partner, Blue Matter Consulting
WASHINGTON’S HEADLINES: SEPARATING RISKS FROM REAL RISKS
The White House administrations and Washington healthcare policies are continuously reshaping healthcare in America, and the industry leadership must ingest and process what is at risk of change versus what is at real risk a reality.
Moderator:
Jayson Slotnik, JD, MPH, Partner, Health Policy Strategies
Faculty:
Joel White, Partner, Head of Health Practice, Monument Advocacy
Christina Hochul, JD, LLM, Senior Director, US Policy & Research, State Policy BMS
Michael Garner, PhD, VP, Policy & Strategy, Artia Solutions—Powered by Petauri
AT-RISK CANCER CARE MIDDLEMEN: ARE RISK-SHARING PARTNERS THE NEW PAYERS?
Cancer Care Service line partners like Thyme Care and Daymark are filling the gap traditional payers have left open. The panel will investigate and discuss whether these partners are truly reducing total cost of care or simply adding a new layer of administrative complexity to the oncology ecosystem.
Moderator:
David Eagle, MD, Chair of Legislative Affairs and Patient Advocacy, New York Cancer and Blood Specialists
Faculty:
Justin Bekelman, MD, Co-Founder & CEO, Daymark Health
Deirdre Saulet, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer, Jasper Health
Andrew Norden, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, OncoHealth
Sadie Dobrozsi, MD, MS, VP, Oncology, Evolent
Othman Laraki, Founder & CEO, Color Health
Brad Diephus, MD, MBA, CEO, Thyme Care
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: IMPLICATIONS AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS TO CONSIDER FROM STRATEGY, INVESTMENT, OPERATIONS, IMPLEMENTATION TO FUTURE STATE
Acknowledging that Artificial Intelligence will be a big part of the future of healthcare is an understatement. Every part of the cancer care ecosystem from Physicians, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, CRO’s, GPO’s, Supply Channel Partners, Elite Technology Developers, Revenue Cycle, Payers, Navigation Service Providers, Pharmacy Providers, Care Providers etc.……are developing their strategic visions and plans to incorporate AI into their core business models. This Panel will discuss and explore all things considered on the path from strategy, vendor selection, operational interoperability, change management, financial commitments, future contacting, implementation and the underlying financial commitment to capturing the ROI (Return on Investment) for the AI efforts.
Moderator:
Douglas Flora, MD, LSSBB, President-Elect, ACCC; Executive Medical Director, Oncology Services, Yung Family Cancer Center, St. Elizabeth Healthcare; CEO, TensorBlack
Faculty:
Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Texas Oncology
Nikolaus Schultz, PhD, Director Cancer Data Science Initiative, MSKCC
Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, AON
Angela Cochran, VP of Publishing, ASCO
Andy Corts, Chief Technology Officer, OneOncology
Carole Tremonti, RN, MBA, VP, CancerLinQ & Provider Partnerships, Concert AI
BEYOND ACADEMIC CENTERS: WILL CELL & GENE THERAPY TRULY SCALE INTO COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY?
Cell and gene therapy is widely viewed as the next major leap in cancer care—but access remains uneven. This panel will examine what it takes for CGT to move beyond academic medical centers and scale into community oncology, including practical barriers and what “ready” really means for sites of care. The discussion will focus on what this shift could mean for patient access and the relevance of community care as CGT expands.
Moderator:
Kim Kushner, MPH, Chief Business Officer, SSI Strategy
Faculty:
Joe DePinto, Head Cell Gene Advanced Therapies, McKesson
Yossi Schwartz, MD, MPH, Senior Medical Officer, FACT
Barry Russo, MBA, CEO, The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Sibel Blau, MD, President & CEO, ONCare Alliance/Exigent Research
Aaron Lyss, Senior Director, Payment and Policy Innovation, OneOncology
Louis Cicchini, PhD, Senior Director, Cencora
MEDICARE FOR ALL FOR CANCER PATIENTS? BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Some policymakers espouse that “Medicare for All” or a government run health care system will address medicine access challenges faced by many including cancer patients in the United States under the current system. These systems are not fully understood. Experts in global oncology value and access contrast how ex-US health systems approach oncology drug approval and reimbursement vs US health systems and the implications on the availability and affordability of the latest oncology innovative treatments of today and tomorrow.
Moderator:
Beth Hamilton, MBA, Former VP, Global Oncology Market Access and Pricing, AstraZeneca
Faculty:
John O’Brien, PharmD, MPH, President & Chief Executive Officer, National Pharmaceutical Council
Jaime Barnes, MS, VP, Global Market Access, Merck
Marc Pesse, Principal Founder, Executive Insights
SAFE HARBOR DRUG CONTRACTING: IS THIS THE RIGHT CONTRACT INNOVATION TO REPLACE DISCOUNTS, REBATES, AND PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY?
On Nov. 20th, 2020, the Trump Administration revived the Rebate Safe Harbor Rule in effort to reform drug pricing. Safe Harbors offer an Innovative contacting solution in which economic risk can be shared by pharmaceutical manufacturers and the economics for contracting risk does not collapse Net Cost Recovery. Unfortunately, marketplace adoption as been almost no existent. Safe harbor regulations (42 C.F.R. § 1001.952) protect specific pharmaceutical drug contracts and warranty arrangements from violating the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). These regulations ensure that legitimate, value-based contracts—such as manufacturer rebates, price reductions, and outcome-based warranties—are not misconstrued as illegal remuneration, provided they strictly meet regulatory. Discussion will focus on Key Safe Harbor Protections for drug contacts such as Warranty Safe Harbor (42 C.F.R. 1001.952(g)): Protects arrangements where a manufacturer reimburses a payer (or patient) if a drug fails to work as intended, often used for high-cost cell or gene therapies such as Discount Safe Harbor (42 C.F.R. 1001.952(h)) which covers reductions in price, including rebates for prescription drugs, provided they are properly disclosed and reported and Outcome-Based Agreements: Recent updates to the Personal Services and Management Contracts safe harbor now cover value-based arrangements where compensation is tied to clinical outcomes, rather than just volume. This panel of legal experts will discuss the possibilities that exist and providers and Pharma look to find models of contacting that produce the transparency the market is seeking.
Moderator:
Kelly Cleary, JD, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss & Feld
Faculty:
Robert Wells, Chair, Health Law and Government Solutions, Baker Donelson
Eric Hargan, JD, Founder & CEO, The Hargan Group; Former Deputy Secretary, US Department of Health and Human Services
Mary Hendrickson, PharmD, JD, Of Counsel, Foley & Lardner
USING TECH TO OPTIMIZE CANCER THERAPEUTICS: REDUCING TOXICITY, ENSURING ADHERENCE, AND MAXIMIZING BENEFIT
Although our therapeutic armamentarium has dramatically improved, we continue to be faced with how best to optimize the treatments we have available. Bispecific, CAR-T, and complex regimens are moving into community oncology faster than the infrastructure to support them. Monitoring adherence to our growing list of oral cancer drugs remains challenging. Even well-established infused therapeutic agents can be prematurely discontinued if toxicity isn’t recognized and managed. This panel examines whether tech-enabled workflows can solve these challenges, allowing our patients to derive the greatest possible benefits from these life-saving treatments.
Moderator:
Lavi Kwiatkowsky, Founder & CEO, Canopy
Faculty:
Barry Brooks, MD, MBA, Medical Director GPO Services, McKesson Specialty Health
Jodi Bass, Vice President, VP, Global Commercial Precision Medicine, Johnson & Johnson
PRECISION MEDICINE’S BLIND SPOT: WHEN CLINICAL TRIALS DEMAND TESTING, NO ONE PAYS
A majority of drug clinical trials require biomarker testing to assess trial eligibility, yet testing is rarely performed or rarely reimbursed. This discussion will review the opportunities afforded by broader clinical trial testing, the barriers that exist, and solutions developed in the market to overcome them.
Moderator:
John Fox, MD, MHA, Senior Medical Director for USCAN, Illumina
Faculty:
Suzanne Belinson, PhD, VP, Commercial Markets, Tempus AI
Lucy Langer, MD, National Medical Director, for Oncology, Genomics & Laboratory, UnitedHealthcare
Renuka Iyer, MD, SVP, CMO, NCCN
Alison Urvalek, PhD, Executive Director, NSCLC Strategy Lead, Eli Lilly and Company
Christine Hale, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, US Benefits, Gallagher
Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, FASCO, Chief Medical Officer, AccessHope
STANDARDIZING SECOND OPINIONS: WHY DON’T WE GET FIRST OPINIONS RIGHT
Up to half of cancer patients seek a second opinion, and 20–58% of those reviews change the diagnosis or treatment plan, evidence that the first opinion too often misses the mark. The cost is both clinical and financial: avoidable variation, low-value care, and outcomes that diverge sharply by geography, with rural patients bearing the heaviest burden. This panel examines how expert subspecialist input paired with systematic case audit closes that variation, reduces low-value care, and improves outcomes, and what it means for value-based care. The panel will discuss where AI decision-support and pathway tools raise the floor on second opinion quality and will question whether a human expert check remains essential rather than obsolete. Finally, the panel will explore how technology is redrawing the map of oncology expertise so that life-saving knowledge reaches patients faster.
Moderator:
Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, FASCO, Chief Medical Officer, AccessHope
Faculty:
Ira Klein, MD, Vice President, Medical Affairs and Payer Relations, Tempus AI
Lucio Gordan, President & Managing Physician, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
Stephen Speicher, MD, MS, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Lantern
Lucy Langer, MS, MD, National Medical Director, Oncology and Genomics, UnitedHealthcare
James Hamrick, MD, MPH, SVP, Chair, Precision Oncology Alliance, Caris Life Sciences
David DeBono, MD, Oncology Medical Director, Elevance Health
CAN INDUSTRY LOOK TO MOVE FROM GROSS-TO-NET REBATE DISCOUNTS TO OUTCOME-BASED DRUG CONTRACTING AGREEMENTS
Physician and Payers have tried to do Value Based Agreements before while stunningly the drug which represent 60-70% of the cancer care cost have not been an active participant in these contracts. The old school historical legacy gross to net discount rebate driven contracting has fallen out of favor by both the government healthcare policy and private healthcare markets. More recently the promise of Value Based Contacting has been nothing more than semantics and has failed to truly drive meaningful changes by aligning economic exchange of value between contracting parties. The failure to achieve meaningful Value Based Contact was anchored in the fact manufacturers and payers could not get the real-world data to compute the math required to operate VB agreements. Today and tomorrow as healthcare markets move to real world data interoperability and transparency the game will change. This panel will discuss innovative Outcome Based Agreements as a meaningful way to contract for value and ensure compliance with the new policy and marketplace demand for real world performance and price transparency is achieved without punishing stakeholders.
Moderator:
Michael Pratt, Chief Communications Officer, National Pharmaceutical Council
Faculty:
Tesh Khular, CEO & Founder, Prism TPO
Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, AON
Barbara McAneny, MD, Past President, American Medical Association; Co-Chair, ONCare Alliance; CEO, New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants
Andrew Pecora, MD, CEO & Chairman, Outcomes Matter Innovations
CMS INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES: OCM, EOM, AND WHAT’S UP NEXT
Although the OCM and EOM initiatives sparked a move to innovation in cancer care reimbursement is it now time to move on and incorporate the lessons learned into a new model of cancer care.
This panel will explore lesson learned, how commercial markets adopted some of the innovation and opine on the future models that ware emerging. Rather than revisiting the same conversations about who joined, who didn’t, and why, this panel shifts the spotlight to what’s ahead. Join oncology leaders as they explore emerging value-based care models, lessons from outside oncology, and bold ideas that could move the industry beyond today’s debates and toward tomorrow’s solutions.
Moderator:
Maddi Davidson, Managing Director of Market Access, Avalere Health
Faculty:
Paul Thurmes, MD, President and Medical Oncologist, Minnesota Oncology
Gabrielle Rocque, MD, MS, Chief Medical Officer, Atlas Oncology Partners; Associate Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Rhonda Henschel, MBA, SVP, Payer and Care Transformation, McKesson
Ron Kline, MD, Retired CMO, Quality Measurement and Value-based Incentives Group, CCSQ/CMS
Kiana Mehring, MBA, PPMC, LION, VP of Payer Strategy & Revenue Cycle, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
HUB SERVICES 2.0: DIGITIZING PATIENT ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT LOSING THE HUMAN TOUCH – WHAT TO AUTOMATE, WHAT TO STAFF, AND HOW TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
The hub world has been changing- slowly, but incremental changes. The next 5 years it will transform from what we know today. The question/problem to resolve is that people (generally) don’t want to chat with a bot for their healthcare. So, what services can you automate, what are better performed by people and how to know which is better for specific situations.
Moderator:
Douglas Bock, MBA, Founder and CEO, Simvera, Inc
Faculty:
Michael Fitzgibbons CEO, Claritas Rx
Srulik Dovorsky, Co-Founder & CEO, TailorMed
Courtney Aubrey, MBA, Executive Director, US Patient Support, AstraZeneca
LUNCH AND NETWORKING
PBM, GPO, AND WHOLESALER CONTRACTING: HAS GOVERNMENT LITIGATION AND SETTLEMENTS CHANGED THE MODEL?
Government litigation and settlements involving PBMs, GPOs, and wholesalers, scrutinize PBM vertical integration. Simultaneously, DOJ settlements over generic drug pricing and distribution practices, have put long-standing contracting norms under a spotlight they had not faced before. This panel examines whether that scrutiny has actually altered how these intermediaries structure rebate guarantees, formulary placement terms, GPO fees, and wholesaler chargeback arrangements, or whether the core economics have simply adapted around new disclosure requirements while leaving the underlying incentive structures intact. Panelists will discuss what manufacturers, health systems, and payers should expect going forward: are we seeing genuine renegotiation of the value chain, or a more sophisticated version of the same model built to withstand the next round of enforcement.
Moderator:
Jayson Slotnik, MPH, JD, Partner, Health Policy Strategies
Faculty:
Elizabeth Anderson, MBA, Senior Managing Director, Evercore ISI
Melissa Bartlett, SVP, ERISA Industry Committee
Tim Dube, SVP, Policy and Regulatory Insights, PCMA
Jon Hamrick, MBA, Partner, Curatio Advisors
Barry Fortner, PhD, MS, Founder & Managing Partner, Realmedica Strategies, LLC
BENEFIT CONSULTANTS: ARE THEY LEADING OR MISLEADING THE MARKETPLACE?
Healthcare benefits consultants heavily influence how trillions of dollars are spent on employee health plans, and their guidance can result in massively beneficial or highly detrimental corporate outcomes. While a good consultant acts as a strategic fiduciary to optimize costs and care, a bad or misaligned partner can lock employers into expensive, conflicted structures that drain company resources. Benefit consulting firms have a mixed impact on cancer care, doing well in expanding access to specialized programs, but falling short by sometimes prioritizing restrictive cost controls. This panel expose what is working and what is wrong with a forward look as to what their leadership looks like in the future to building comprehensive employee cancer benefits -screening, treatment access, COE programs, and financial protection.
Moderator:
Christine Worthen, LLM, JD, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker & Green PC
Faculty:
Erin Tatar, SVP, Consultant Relations, Lantern
Lisa Comerose, MBA, BSN, RN, Sr. Vice President National Clinical Mgmt. Consulting, Planning & Analytics for Total Health, MarshMcLennan
Christoph Dankert, Chief Network Officer, Carrum
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT ON HEALTHCARE PAYERS AND FUTURE STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
There are many positive impacts that will benefit healthcare payers from the adoption of Artificial Intelligence technologies to improved access, outcomes and costs in cancer care between Centers of Excellence, Community Oncology, Pharma and Patients. Payers deploying AI technology will improve their operational process but also ensure better collaboration with practice sites and coordination with alternate sites of care. This panel of Healthcare Payer Strategy and Technology leaders will discuss their initiatives today and in the future on incorporating AI technology to improve healthcare in America.
Moderator:
Chris Stewart, VP of Value & Access, Petuari
Faculty:
Mark Atalla, PharmD, MBA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Deputy National Coordinator for Policy, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Kristin Russell, MD, MBA, Chief Health Officer, Point32Health
John Hennessy, MBA, FASCO, BCPA, Associate Principal, Payer Sciences
Matt Smith, MD, Sr. Medical Director Medical Appeals and Pharmacy Solutions, BCBS Texas
ARE NCCN AND PATHWAY ORGANIZATIONS THE REAL ACCESS DECISION MAKERS?
Most payer institutions employ an oncology pathway that directs prescribers to preferred treatment options for their cancer patients. Integrated Delivery Networks, and provider health systems may use their own customized pathway while many others rely on NCCN, as a peer-reviewed evidence based compendia to support drug selection. The evidence used in these pathways serves as the foundation for supporting policy and access. However, the environment is changing and NCCN recently clarified their position that same line of therapy step therapies are not clinically recommended. The session explores the influence of pathway organizations on access and how this will continue to change / adapt as scrutiny on utilization management programs persist
Moderator:
Andrew Cournoyer, RPH, MBA, SVP, Head of Access Experience Team, Precision AQ
Faculty:
Al Benson, III, MD, FACP, FACCC, FASCO, Associate Director, Cooperative Groups, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
Renuka Iyer, MD, CMO, SVP, NCCN
Les Busby, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, US Oncology
William McGivney, PhD, Managing Partner, McGivney Global Advisors
Samuel Stolpe, PharmD, MPH, Partner, Praxis Health Insights
CMS LEADERSHIP DISCUSSION WITH ABE SUTTON
Moderator:
Joe Grogan, JD, Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center; Former Assistant to the President, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Faculty:
Abe Sutton, JD, Deputy Administrator & Director, CMS Innovation Center, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
CMS LEADERSHIP DISCUSSION
Moderator:
Joe Grogan, JD, Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center; Former Assistant to the President, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
THE IRA IS ALREADY REPRICING ONCOLOGY SO WHY IS THE INDUSTRY STILL OPERATING LIKE IT ISN’T? ARE DRUGS UNDER THE IRA ZOMBIES
The Inflation Reduction Act is no longer a future policy discussion. It is actively reshaping oncology economics today. Medicare drug price negotiations, inflation rebates, and shifting Part B and Part D incentives are already influencing manufacturer strategy, payer forecasting, and provider economics. Yet many stakeholders continue to make decisions as though the pre-IRA environment still exists.
Attendees will gain an understanding of how IRA-driven reimbursement changes will affect innovation, access, practice economics, and value-based payment models.
Moderator:
Barry Brooks, MD, MBA, Medical Director GPO Services, McKesson Specialty Health
Faculty:
Sean Hosp, VP, Market & Policy Economics, Cencora
Lara Strawbridge, MPH, Acting Director, Medicare Drug Rebate and Negotiations Group, Center for Medicare
Muna Tuna, US Market Pricing and Reimbursement Leader, Ernst & Young, LLP.
HOW DO SMALL BIOTECH COMPANIES LAUNCH PLANS IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT?
How are they separating real risk from headline risk to establish a launch plan that delivers for patients?
Moderator:
Robert Francomano, Chief Commercial Officer, SynOx Therapeutics
Faculty:
Ray Frost, SVP, Market Access, Cogent Biosciences
John Schick, VP, Global Market Access & Policy, ArriVent
Stewart Hackney, Sr. Director, GPO, Field Reimbursement, National Accounts, Geron
Frederick Zeleznik, MBA, Vice President, Market Access, Summit Therapeutics
Gene Trogan, PhD, Head of Access Marketing, Celcuity
Alex Santini, Former CCO, SVP & Head, Global and US Market Access, Arvinas; CCO, The Mavericks Group
PAYERS AND PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS CLAIM THEY HAVE LIMITED DATA HANDICAPS, WILL THE FUTURE BE THE SAME?
The panel will be addressing data limitation induced problems such as: Oncology drug contracting is fragmented across payors, providers, and manufacturers, Manufacturers are data limited in contracting efforts and therefore can only perform broad volume based contracting objectives with no relevance to outcomes or population dynamics, Payors/Intermediaries want predictable trend but rely on blunt utilization controls, Providers face administrative burden and reimbursement instability and Patients experience rising costs and delayed access. This panel will discuss how industry looks to cure interoperability and resource data to capture value. This panel will focus on the great opportunity here with key stakeholders to align how pharma and payors contract with providers, with affordability and outcomes at the center.
Moderator:
Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, AON
Faculty:
John Doyle, DrPH, MPH, SVP, Head of Medical Evidence Development, Pfizer
V. Scott Morris, VP, President & GM, IntrinsiQ Specialty Solutions
Mittal Sutaria, PharmD, Sr. Vice President, Contract & Program Services, Vizient
Amy Eaves, VP, Real-World Data and Evidence, Cardinal Health
OPEN CONVERSATION ON THE CONDITION OF CANCER CARE DELIVERY AND WHEN FACED WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS, THEY REFRAMED THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE IN CANCER CARE
For everyone that is in cancer care, we all have the privilege of knowing where to go, who to call, and how to deal with cancer when it strikes us and our family. Unfortunately, for the rest of the public, they do not have these advantages and hence, they get care levels and access, that are at times, unacceptable. This panel of industry veterans will discuss what good looks like for the rest of America, that does not know how to navigator or access standards in care.
Moderator:
Basit Chaudhry, PhD, MD, Founder, Tuple Health
Faculty:
Diana Verrilli, General Manager, Navista
Peter Bach, MD, MA, SVP, Data and Research, Optum
Tony Blau, MD, CEO, All4Cure
IF PRIOR AUTHORIZATION IS DYING, WHAT REPLACES IT?
Nearly every stakeholder agrees that traditional utilization management creates administrative burden, delays care, and generates provider frustration. At the same time, oncology costs continue to rise and payers remain accountable for managing spend. As CMS, states, and industry groups push for prior authorization reform, the question is no longer whether utilization management should change, it is what should replace it. The session will explore the next generation of oncology cost management: pathways, prospective clinical guidance, navigation-driven intervention models, AI-enabled decision support, and risk-bearing care management organizations. The discussion should move beyond criticism of prior authorization toward practical alternatives.
Moderator:
Lance Grady, EVP, Managing Partner, Precision AQ
Faculty:
Ed Licitra, MD, PhD, CEO, Astera Health Partners/Astera Cancer Care; Founder, Vantris Health
Nick Lefeber, MBA, Total Cost of Care, Value-Based Care, Medical Economics, BCBS Rhode Island
Gerry Stanley, MD, P-CEO, Former CMO, Express Scripts EverNorth
Jeffrey Scott, MD, President & Chief Medical Officer, Integra Connect
Andrew Norden, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, OncoHealth
Les Busby, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, US Oncology
Jonathan Rhodes, MPH, Co-Founder, Daymark Health
CONTRACTING CRYSTAL BALL “WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE IN THE FUTURE”
Industry experts sharing their thoughts on the future ahead as healthcare contractors move from light legacy discounts to high value performance-based contracting for high-cost specialty pharmaceutical care. Panelists will explore the transformative potential of aligning treatment outcomes with cost-efficiency, ensuring patients receive optimal high-quality care while minimizing suboptimal clinical and financial results. Additionally, the panel will discuss the opportunities and impact that data interoperability and elite technologies, personalized medicine and Artificial Intelligence driven approaches to improve patient access and outcomes will have on the pharmaceutical al care delivery systems. However, the panel will also address significant challenges, such as healthcare disparities, regulatory hurdles, and the integration of AI new technologies with legacy platforms into existing care models. Lastly, we will hear what impact on this future we can expect from the Trump Healthcare Administration and Washington policy makers ahead.
Faculty:
Chris Mancill, SVP, Market Access, AstraZeneca
Safiya Abouzaid, PharmD, MPH, VP, Value, Access, & Pricing, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Justin McCarthy, SVP & Head of Access, Pricing, & Value Demonstration, BMS
Jay Seemann, Vice President, Market Access and Value, BeOne Medicines
Lerryn Trzcinski, VP, US Market Access, Daiichi Sankyo
CANCER CARE MEETS THE PRESS
Hear from some of DC’s Insiders on the latest impact the administration is having on healthcare.
Moderator:
Brian Reid, MS, Principal, Reid Strategic
Faculty:
Steve Usdin, Senior Editor, Washington, BioCentury Publications
LEADERSHIP VOICES CALL OUT MAJOR ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD
Cancer Care fortunately has so many strong Industry Voices in Washington and in our local communities that continuously beat the drums on the most pressing issues in cancer care to ensue patients and providers oversee their care and treatment decisions. Strong leadership and a collaborative common voice make this a reality. Hear from the leaders of the most prominent defenders of cancer care in America.
Moderator:
Michael Kolodziej, MD, CMO, Canopy
Faculty:
Clifford Hudis, MD, CEO, ASCO
Nicolas Ferreyros, Managing Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, Community Oncology Alliance
Vivek Kavadi, MD, MBA, FASCO, CEO, ASTRO
Meagan O’Neill, MS, Executive Director, ACCC
Cynthia Dunbar, President elect, ASH
Renuka Iyer, MD, CMO, NCCN
ALGORITHM TO OUTCOME: HOW AI IS RESHAPING THE PATHWAY-TO-VALUE-PIPELINE IN ONCOLOGY
The AI Landscape today from pathway-to-value pipeline, point-of-care decision support, utilization management, outcomes tracking and VBC contract operationalization by separating real-world impact from aspiration. Panel explores Dynamic Pathways vs. Static Guidelines, updating treatment recommendations in near real time; pathway committees on clinical breakthroughs or a governance crisis, and who is accountable when a dynamic recommendation diverges from published guideline? AI as the Missing Infrastructure for VBC: Outcomes-based contracts that have consistently collapsed under data complexity and attribution disputes. Will AI infrastructure layers make value-based contracting scalable? Can AI bridge the Data Divide so consolidated networks can demonstrate outcomes and negotiate stronger VBC contracts as smaller community practices largely cannot. AI accelerating consolidation by making data scale a prerequisite for value-based participation? The Path Forward Collaboration Over Competition and align around shared data infrastructure, interoperability standards, and jointly defined outcome metrics to move from siloed AI experimentation to a coordinated pathway-to-value ecosystem that genuinely improves patient care.
Moderator:
Sophia Tan, Managing Partner, The Dedham Group
Faculty:
Nina Chavez, MBA, FACMPE, SVP Growth, Exigent
TJ Slavin, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Diagnostics, Tempus AI
David Jackman, MD, Medical Director for Clinical Pathways; Senior Physician, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Sibel Blau, MD, President & CEO, ONCare Alliance/Exigent Research
FROM POINT SOLUTIONS TO PRACTICE INFRASTRUCTURE: WHERE AI IS GOING
The first wave of AI in oncology has produced a growing number of point solutions: tools for documentation, trial matching, patient engagement, prior authorization, imaging, coding, and clinical decision support. But oncology care is not experienced as a set of disconnected tasks. It is a complex, longitudinal workflow involving physicians, patients, nurses, pharmacists, payers, life sciences companies, and practice operators.
This panel will examine whether AI can become a connective layer across that ecosystem. The discussion will focus on how AI can support the full arc of oncology care, from pre-visit planning and treatment decisions to care coordination, reimbursement, toxicity monitoring, and real-world evidence generation.
Moderator:
Lalan Wilfong, MD, CMO, Navista
Faculty:
Matthew Ko, Founder, CEO, DeepScribe
Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Texas Oncology
Sean Khozin, MD, CEO, CEO Round Table on Cancer: Former Founding Executive Director, INFORMED at the FDA
Larry Bilbrey, Director, Data Insights & Innovations at Tennessee Oncology; Senior Director, Digital Innovation, OneOncology
Ravi Parikh, MD, MBA, MPP, Director Human Algorithm Collaboration Lab, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Femida Gwadry-Sridhar, BSc Pharm, MSc(Epi), PhD, CEO & Founder, Pulse Infoframe
SCALING SURVIVORSHIP: LEVERAGING POLICY, DIGITAL TOOLS, AND AI-ENABLED CARE MODELS
Moderator:
Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ, Director of Value Transformation, Precision AQ
Faculty:
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP, CEO, Cancer Nation
Bob Gold, CEO, Founder & Chief Behavioral Technologist, GoMo Health
M. Hamza Habib, MD, JD, MBA, FACP, FAAHPM, FRCPI, FRCP, Professor of Medicine – Chief, Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, Rutgers Cancer Institute/ RWJ University Hospital; Director, Ambulatory Palliative Care and Cancer Pain Service, Rutgers Cancer Institute/ RWJ University Hospital; Chief Medical Officer, Goals of Care Coalition of NJ
US VS. CHINA, PRESERVING OUR NATIONAL TREASURE: CLINICAL RESEARCH
China has pursued global leadership in biotechnology for many years and has made tremendous headway in the past decade. Although the US has historically retained a leg up in drug discovery, it’s losing ground to China in manufacturing and clinical trials. In 2021, China’s global share of Phase 1 trials surpassed the United States’ share for the first time. In 2024, China surpassed the United States in the total number of clinical trials registered, with 39 percent of global trials. China’s goal is nothing less than manufacturing dominance, and much of the world’s advanced-stage manufacturing supply-chain infrastructure is now China based. This panel will explore what can be done to protect America clinical research and barriers we need to address and what solutions we have the power to implement.
Moderator:
Faculty:
Sean Khozin, MD, CEO, CEO Round Table on Cancer: Former Founding Executive Director, INFORMED at the FDA
Cliff Hudis, MD, CEO, ASCO
Louis Jacques, MD, Former Head of Coverage, CMS
RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS: CLOSING THE SCIENCE-TO-PRACTICE GAP BEFORE ACCESS FALLS BEHIND
Radiopharmaceuticals are rapidly reshaping cancer care, but the central question is whether the healthcare system can deliver these therapies to eligible patients at scale. This panel will examine the widening gap between scientific promise and real-world implementation, with particular focus on the operational, reimbursement, infrastructure, and site-of-care barriers that could limit access if stakeholders do not act proactively. Science is advancing faster than operations, reimbursement, and care delivery can keep pace. CAR-T demonstrated that transformative clinical outcomes alone are not sufficient to guarantee broad adoption; operational complexity, financial uncertainty, and limited delivery infrastructure prevented many eligible patients from receiving treatment. Theragnostic and RLT risk repeating that trajectory unless stakeholders align earlier around implementation. Further, while most eligible patients are treated in community settings, infrastructure remains concentrated in academic medical centers. This site-of-care mismatch is one of the most important barriers to solve as radiopharmaceutical use expands.
Moderator:
Manojkumar Bupathi, MD, MS, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers
Faculty:
Puneeth Indurlal, MD, MS, EVP, Strategic Operations & Enterprise Solutions, American Oncology Network
Mike Herman, MD, Vice Chair, Radiopharmaceutical Committee, Texas Oncology
Matt Smith, MD, Sr. Medical Director Medical Appeals and Pharmacy Solutions, BCBS Texas
505(B)(2)s: FROM VALUE ASSESSMENT TO IMPLEMENTATION BEST PRACTICES
Session Description
Moderator:
Jorge J. Garcia, PharmD, MS, MHA, MBA, Founder & Principal, Patagonia Healthcare
Faculty:
Austin Cox, PharmD, VP, Pharmacy Services, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
Chris Marcum, PharmD, System Executive Director, Pharmacy Business & Strategy, Pharmacy, City of Hope
WHAT ADVANCED PRACTITIONERS ARE WORTH IN VALUE-BASED CARE: 85 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR?
This session will discuss Advanced Practitioners (APs) as measurable drivers of value-based outcomes, not just a support role. Experts will surface the reimbursement mismatch despite comparable outcomes (what that may cost organizations). The panel will translate frontline AP work into business language: staffing models, reimbursement pathways, and ROI. The panel will deeply discuss the oncologist shortage and AP workforce as a solution. The panel will consider what providers need to do in terms of invest in and support this workforce. Lastly, the panelists will cover what’s negotiable in payer contracts today, what new policy-level fixes that are coming, and lastly, how payers can align on these initiatives to solve the access problems ahead.
Moderator:
Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Texas Oncology
Faculty:
Tammy Triglianos, DNP, ANP-BC, AOCNP, VP, Clinical Affairs, Conxiant & Oncology Nurse Practitioner
David Eagle, MD, Chair of Legislative Affairs and Patient Advocacy, New York Cancer and Blood Specialists
Diana Youngs, Chief Clinical Officer, New York Cancer and Blood Specialists
Kirollos Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, FACCC, FAPO, FHOPA, Director of Pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology