Big pharma signs up to provide vital cancer therapies to lower income countries

New coalition aims to improve access to cancer treatment in regions where it is needed

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Leila Hawkins
06/16/2022

Following Pfizer’s recent announcement to provide medicines to lower-income countries for no-profit, pharma giants have joined a coalition set up to improve access to cancer medicines in these regions.

The Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM) coalition is a new global initiative established by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to improve the supply of essential cancer therapies, increase capacity for diagnostics and improve handling and supply monitoring of these medicines.

AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi and Teva have so far signed up to the coalition. Other members include government stakeholders and organizations from both public and private sectors with expertise in cancer-focused access programs.

Priority will be given to medicines currently on the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Medicines List, which treat cancers with the highest mortality rate in low-and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs). These include lung, colorectal, breast, cervical, prostate and childhood cancers. Currently less than 50 percent of the cancer medicines on this list are currently available in LLMICs.

In 2020, more than 3.5 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in these countries and 2.3 million premature deaths were caused by the disease. Many LLMICs do not have sufficient resources to respond to the needs of people living with cancer and have limited supply of medication and diagnostics. If left unchecked, deaths from cancer in LLMICs are expected to rise to 4 million per year by 2040.

Access to cancer medicines in LLMICs is challenging. Professor Anil D’Cruz, President of the UICC and Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in India, commented: “Simply making affordable cancer medicines available does not guarantee that people living with cancer will receive the medicines they need at the right time.

“This new partnership is set up to ensure that low- and lower-middle income countries get the support they need to receive the essential cancer medicines where they are currently lacking, as well as training on their use so that their availability becomes sustainable on the long term and addresses the specific needs of each country with respect to its cancer burden.”

ATOM partners will begin working collectively in some LLMICs, taking into consideration health system readiness, diagnostic capability, the number of essential medicines available and the existence of other access programs. Working with local stakeholders, ATOM will provide targeted training and support in diagnosing cancer and supply monitoring of cancer medicines.

The coalition will also support manufacturers to develop generics and biosimilars at affordable prices in selected countries, before expanding to other LLMICs over time.

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