Access to life-saving therapies is a global responsibility, not a luxury good in countries of the rich. But there are no simple solutions.
It’s more than 20 years since Imatinib revolutionized CML treatment and showed the potential of precision cancer medicine. In this article, CancerWorld journalist Anna Wagstaff asks why, despite the emergence of generics, are so many patients in low- and middle-income countriesstill dying for lack of access today, and what this could mean for efforts to improve global access to cancer care. Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, Martín Rosales de la Rosa, Rod Padua, Jan Geißler and a number of other patient advocates as well as company representatives and other experts have been interviewed by Anna Wagstaff over many months to dig deep on the complexities of generous access programmes, the end of patents and why CML generics didn’t solve the access problem, the diversity of healthcare system deficiencies, the power play of collateral damage, and vested interests – and why robust data and infrastructure also in those countries may become so important.
Who is responsible for access? Where does responsibility start and end? This article is the essence of 20 years of CML patient advocacy for patient access, our uphill struggles, the frustration of patients lifes being held hostage for pushing for reimbursement.
Please read this article. Share it. Share your thoughts. Contradict. Argue. This is not just an article, and there are no simple solutions. Access is a story that never ends, and that needs your brains, your hands, your persistence, and our collaboration.
