Gov John Bel Edwards and officials from LSU Health, LCMC Health, Tulane University and the Louisiana Cancer Research Center announced a new agreement on Monday aimed at accelerating the state’s yearslong effort to secure a prestigious National Cancer Institute designation.
For more than two decades, state leaders have been eyeing a coveted NCI designation, which is awarded by the National Institute of Health and typically brings with it research dollars, biomedical jobs and patients from around the country seeking top-quality cancer care.
“Today, we’re as close as we’ve ever been,” said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, who officiated the announcement at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center on Tulane Avenue.
Formal structure
Over the years, officials have announced several milestones touting their progress. Monday’s agreement formalizes how the four institutions will work together to pursue the NCI designation.
Under the terms of the deal, LSU Health New Orleans will take the lead in applying for the designation, which is more than a mere technicality.
The four health institutions frequently discuss their collaborative work even as they compete for patients and research dollars. Getting everyone on the same page means there is now a single institution in the driver’s seat, officials said.
“You have to have only one applicant, according to the NCI rules,” said Dr. Joe Ramos, director of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. “That is essential. LSU has campuses around the state, Ag Centers, a statewide reach and over $17 million in research funding. All that is important.”
A long process
Still, it’s at least five or six years before an application is submitted and another year at least after that before a decision on whether to grant the designation is made.
Edwards, who leaves office at the end of the year, noted that securing NCI designation has been a priority of his administration throughout his tenure.
“We have been working on this for literally the whole eight years to get where we are today,” Edwards said. “While it may be a simple six-page agreement, it is going to have a profound impact on Louisiana.”
Under the terms of the deal, Ramos, who was recruited to lead the LCRC in mid-2022, will divide his time between LSU Health New Orleans and the LCRC, and both will split paying his salary.
Over the next few years, the partner institutions will focus on working more closely on cancer research and on reaching out to all parts of the state with their findings, clinical trials and collaborative efforts.
“The alignment has been missing,” Ramos said. “This is what we put in place today.”
Prestigious designation
Louisiana has among the highest cancer rates in the nation and the worst cancer outcomes, and studies have shown the state loses cancer patients to cancer centers like MD Anderson in Houston.
Securing NCI designation is seen as a way to allow patients to get treatment in the state while also bolstering the downtown biomedical district in New Orleans and the larger health care sector in Louisiana.
There are 71 NCI centers in 36 states around the U.S. None are in Louisiana or Mississippi.
Cancer care and research are big business and health care institutions around the state are competing for patients. Earlier this year, Ochsner Health announced it had inked a partnership with MD Anderson in Houston to become a MD Anderson Cancer Center, which means it has access to clinical trials through the Houston center.
Ochsner was not a part of today’s announcement, though it is a member of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, along with LSU Health, Tulane and Xavier University.