On March 8, 2021 The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported the expansion of the Cancer Access Partnership (CAP) to further increase access to lifesaving cancer treatments in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia (Press release, Clinton Health Access Initiative, MAR 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234576252]). The announcement was made alongside the launch of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new Global Breast Cancer Initiative which aims to bring together partners to reduce global breast cancer mortality by 2.5 percent per year, thereby averting 2.5 million breast cancer deaths globally between 2020 and 2040.
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Biocon Biologics Limited will join the growing list of companies in the CAP which currently includes Novartis, Pfizer, and Viatris. This expanded partnership will make 26 medications in 39 formulations affordably available to low- and middle-income countries across Africa and Asia, including key chemotherapies, hormonal therapies, biologics, and supportive therapies essential for the treatment of 30 cancers, including breast cancer. The agreements will provide access to 25 regimens for the treatment of breast cancer— which is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer globally—and has the potential to generate an expected overall savings of 60 percent on purchased medications for governments.
"This expanded partnership takes us another step closer to ensuring that the same cancer treatments are available to patients no matter where they live," stated Dr. Iain Barton, CEO of CHAI.
"Every person with cancer deserves affordable treatment that meets the high quality standards set by a stringent regulatory authority and these new agreements will make that possible for many people in Africa and Asia" said Dr. Bill Cance, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society.
The addition of Biocon Biologics to the partnership, along with an expanded portfolio of biosimilars from Pfizer, will enable access to best-in-class therapies that are currently out of reach for patients in low- and middle-income countries. The agreements will now enable access to high quality trastuzumab, rituximab, and pegfilgrastim biosimilars in addition to previously available biosimilar filgrastim from Novartis.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Biologics said, "We are pleased to collaborate with CHAI and ACS for their Cancer Access Partnership (CAP) for patients in Sub- Saharan Africa & Asia. Biocon Biologics is committed to expand access to affordable biologics in LMICs through strategic partnerships with global health organizations. Through CAP, our products will support the global efforts directed at expanding therapy options available to healthcare systems in several Asian and African countries for advancing the fight against cancer. This partnership further strengthens our resolve to address the unmet patient needs for high quality, affordable biosimilars for cancer, like bTrastuzumab and bPegfilgrastim."
ACS and CHAI began partnering with governments and cancer treatment institutions across sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 to improve cancer treatment and care. Patients in sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to die from cancer as those in the United States, and the number of cases in the region continues to grow with an estimated 800,000 new cases and 500,000 deaths in 2020. Annual cancer deaths in sub-Saharan Africa are projected to almost double by 2030. Seventy percent of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
In June of 2020, CHAI and ACS announced the creation of the Cancer Access Partnership alongside Novartis, Viatris, and existing partner, Pfizer. Since that time, partners have made significant commitments to increase access to high-quality products, leading to direct sales of cancer medicines in eight countries with purchasers in additional countries engaged further. The expanding list of countries indicates continued willingness to serve ever greater populations. The partners are also committed to continually monitoring the impact of the partnership on patients.
"Novartis is proud to reconfirm our commitment to cancer patients in helping to enable broader access to cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa. We are happy to see the partnership expand and welcome the new cancer allies, as we know it takes a joint effort to tackle this life-threatening disease. Together we have the ability to help reduce mortality, broaden access opportunities and positively impact the patient journey. I would like to take the opportunity to invite colleagues from the medical device space to join and help contribute to strengthening diagnosis and screening in SSA," said Racey Muchilwa, Head of Novartis SSA.
"The battle against cancer can only be won when strong partnerships across and within countries address the challenges faced by people seeking care, their caregivers and the health systems that support them holistically," said Michelle Akande, Vice President of Pfizer Global Health Partnerships. "We have been a proud partner to this effort spanning several years, working towards one of our common goals, which is helping patients gain access to the medicines they need to live longer and healthier lives. We are very excited to see this partnership grow and to now bring Pfizer biosimilars to the collaboration in order to offer an even broader range of treatment options to patients in need."
The market access agreements are part of a broader effort to improve access to quality cancer care in Africa. In 2019, ACS, CHAI, the African Cancer Coalition, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and IBM joined to form Allied Against Cancer. This coalition is leveraging the strengths of each organization to connect with and empower the African oncology community to deliver high-quality cancer care and is working to pursue additional market-based collaborations to increase access to cancer medicines in the region. A recently launched Treatment Access Fund invites the support of multiple companies and other funders to support Allied Against Cancer activities.
Countries covered by the new agreements include Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Lao PDR, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Not all products are offered in every country.