UNITED KINGDOM – AstraZeneca (AZ) has announced a new Ovarian Cancer Commitment (OCC) initiative aimed at improving survival and quality of life for women diagnosed with the disease.
Fewer than half of women with ovarian cancer are still alive five years after their diagnosis. AstraZeneca is teaming with a physician’s group and a coalition of patient advocacy organizations to try to change that grim statistic.
“Medicines will get us so far, but it’s going to take a real collaboration amongst stakeholders if we’re going to improve survival outcomes for these patients,” said Andy Barnett, AstraZeneca’s global franchise head for GU and GYN cancers.
The OCC is the result of two years of collaboration between AZ, the European Society of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO), and the European Network of Gynecological Cancer Advocacy Groups (ENGAGe), a network of over 70 European patient advocacy groups focusing on gynecological cancer care.
The partnership aims to improve access to diagnostics, genetic and biomarker testing, and specialized treatment by building on best practices, while also developing better ways to support women living with the disease.
Its first project involves scaling up a digital patient pathway created by a patient advocacy group in Hungary.
The coalition was impressed with how the program guided patients through each step of their ovarian cancer journey, according to Barnett, and hopes to expand it throughout Europe and eventually worldwide.
Another priority is to increase the number of ovarian cancer specialty care centers to improve access to quality care.
Despite the fact that ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecological cancers, ESGO has compiled evidence that the quality of the surgery to remove the cancer can affect the outcome.
In the hopes of “creating a movement,” the coalition is inviting other professional organizations, patient groups, and pharmaceutical companies to join the effort.
According to Barnett, each partner brings a distinct set of skills to the table, with AZ providing financial resources as well as expertise in communication and disease awareness, and ESGO and ENGAGe providing oncologist and patient perspectives, respectively.
Lynparza, a top-selling PARP inhibitor co-developed by AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., is used to treat women with advanced ovarian cancer who have BRCA mutations or not.
The drug, which has multiple cancer indications, competes with GlaxoSmithKline’s Zejula and Clovis Oncology’s Rubraca on the market. Last year, it generated US$2.35 billion in revenue for AZ.
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