Two health system innovation chiefs have been named to the steering committee for CancerX, an initiative that aims to cut the U.S. cancer death rate in half through digital health.
They are Rasu Shrestha, MD, executive vice president and chief innovation and commercialization officer of Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, and Mary Tolikas, PhD, senior vice president and chief innovation officer of Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The two join 10 other industry leaders, including executives from pharma, Big Tech, digital health, nonprofits and the payer world.
"Patients and clinicians are increasingly embracing digital transformation in healthcare," said Edmondo Robinson, MD, senior vice president and chief digital officer of Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center, a founding partner of CancerX, in a Sept. 12 news release. "This has created unprecedented momentum for us. We are finally in reach of significant progress in our fight against cancer."
CancerX is part of the Biden administration's Cancer Moonshot project to at least halve the cancer mortality rate in the next 25 years, saving upward of 4 million lives.