Beyond the horizon: A better future for people with blood disorders

As we approach the end of another year, I can’t help but reflect on the past 12 months and the changes we have seen in that time. December 2021 not only marks two years since the first COVID cases were reported in China, it’s also one year since the first person received a COVID vaccine. At a time when so many everyday activities paused, medical innovation accelerated, truly showcasing the power and potential of scientific collaboration, and we defined a new ‘normal’.?

For me, both professionally and personally, 2021 represented a year of firsts: I joined the incredibly talented community at Roche and Genentech, reconnected with colleagues across the globe all committed to advancing innovation in cancer and hematology drug development, and now can’t wait to join medical community colleagues – those attending in person and virtually – at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, from December 11-14.?

Across the industry, ASH provides us with an opportunity to share advances towards the goal of creating a future where every person with a blood disease has a better outcome and receives the treatment that is precisely right for them. The meeting gives focus to how the hematology community – healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers, advocates and industry – is working together and constantly learning to improve clinical outcomes for people living with these diseases. I’m lucky enough to be in Atlanta to experience the congress firsthand, and to be part of this important scientific exchange.?

We’re all too familiar with the unsettling statistic that one in two of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetime. I know this too well, having shared the story of my wife's diagnosis with colon cancer several years ago. Fortunately, her cancer was caught early, and now she's a proud cancer survivor. I believe every patient confronting the diagnosis of cancer should similarly have access to the highest quality, most innovative state-of-the-art therapies.?

Thankfully, for many people a diagnosis of cancer means something very different to what it did years ago. Groundbreaking research and technology have enabled us to alter the course of a disease – to reduce the impact it has not just on life expectancy but also quality of life. In hematology, for example, the ten year survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma has soared from 20% to 60% in the last 40 years and new types of treatment in hemophilia have transformed the disease landscape, providing more treatment options and changing lives for the better.?

But what’s clear in clinical practice, is that more remains to be done for people with blood diseases and during ASH, I look forward to hearing more about therapeutic advances in areas of great unmet need. For me, some areas hold an enduring interest: for example, the established standard of care for people with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), was set 20 years ago. What can two decades of experience provide these patients – to show they’re not forgotten??

Undeniably, the wealth of data to be presented over the next few days is evidence of promising developments on the horizon for people with blood disorders. ASH is an important milestone in the scientific calendar year, and one that furthers our understanding in this multifaceted field of diseases. For me, it’s also a moment to remind myself that these advances are only meaningful when they reach the people who need them. Our hope is that these data presented at ASH will catalyze rapid improvements in care, and access to medicines for those in need.