New Initiative Brings Voice of Families Impacted by Childhood Asthma to the Forefront of Drug Development

The Allergy & Asthma Network, American Lung Association, American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, and Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America are collaborating on a new initiative — Little Airways, Big Voices. The initiative aims to amplify the patient and caregiver voice to inform the future of treatment for asthma in children.

The collaborative will host an externally-led patient-focused drug development (EL-PFDD) meeting on September 20, 2021, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. The goal of the meeting is to gather patient and caregiver insights about living with and managing pediatric asthma to share with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as researchers, clinicians, and drug developers.

“The patient voice is sometimes forgotten during the long and strenuous drug development process,” states Kenneth Mendez, CEO and president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. “We are honored to co-host this event to ensure that future innovative therapies are developed and reviewed based on input from real families living with chronic asthma, especially in children.”

Anyone who has experience living with and/or managing asthma in childhood is invited to attend the Little Airways, Big Voices EL-PFDD meeting. Participants will be invited to call in, submit written comments and questions, and take polls.

Patients and caregivers can also add their voice to the initiative by completing a brief survey or submitting written comments about their experiences living with and managing asthma in childhood.

“There are more than six million children living with asthma, making it the most common chronic condition and one of the leading causes of school absenteeism,” said Albert Rizzo, M.D., chief medical officer for the American Lung Association. “Strategic partnerships like Little Airways, Big Voices are critical to advancing our research, treatment, and overall care for children with asthma.”

All the information gathered from this EL-PFDD meeting, survey, and written comments will be analyzed and summarized in a Voice of the Patient report to be released in 2022. The report will help inform the FDA, researchers, clinicians, and drug companies about what is important to people living with and managing asthma in children.

To learn more about the Little Airways, Big Voices initiative, visit littleairwaysbigvoices.org.