ACCC Gains Support from Merck for Immuno-Oncology Program in the Community Setting

ROCKVILLE, MD. – The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) announced that Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, is supporting ACCC’s Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology (ICLIO), with an educational grant. ICLIO is the first organization to prepare multidisciplinary cancer care providers for the complex implementation of immuno-oncology in the community setting.

Merck’s support will further enable ICLIO to meet the pressing demand for cross-disciplinary education on integration of immunotherapy in oncology through the development of additional summits, whitepapers, webinars, preceptorships, and opportunities for training and knowledge sharing.

“Immunotherapy is a completely different therapy, with unique challenges in giving patients in their local communities access to the best care possible. ICLIO is working to advance physician and community awareness on how best to provide immunotherapy treatments in a real-world setting and we are thrilled to have Merck’s support to advance this important effort,” said ACCC President Jennie R. Crews, MD, MMM, FACP.

Immuno-oncology treatment can have toxicity challenges and other variables that need to be addressed to support successful patient care. ICLIO will create tumor-specific collaborative working groups to identify and outline best practices and strategies for implementation and delivery of immunotherapy in the community setting. Additionally, ICLIO will offer preceptorships at five host cancer programs to provide an in-depth learning experience.

Live learning forums will include a summit to foster payer, provider, and patient communication on immuno-oncology value, method of action, and coverage at the second national ICLIO Conference, to be held in the fall of 2016. The ICLIO Conference will provide a forum for addressing challenges and opportunities within the emerging clinical applications of cancer immunotherapy and engaging in dialogue on immunotherapy implementation.

ACCC is launching an online ICLIO learning portal, offering module courses for individual providers as well as entire cancer care teams. The courses will be part of e-learning certificate programs focused on administrative, clinical, and operational issues.

Since the launch of ICLIO in July 2015, thousands of oncology providers have benefitted from unique resources in critical areas such as coverage and reimbursement for immunotherapy, patient access and advocacy, clinical optimization, best practices, and training and development. Most recently, ICLIO issued a white paper, “Advancing Immuno-Oncology in the Community Setting,” to help guide a path forward for best practice immuno-onology care.

To learn more about immuno-oncology and access resources and helpful tools on implementation, visit the ICLIO website accc-iclio.org which offers comprehensive resources on immune-oncology topics.