Every person with cancer has their own story. And each unique story fuels our dedication to discover innovative medicines and personalize care for all patients with cancer.
But the future we envision – one with better outcomes for patients at lower cost to society – requires more than medicines alone. That’s why we apply the same dedication and spirit of innovation to the challenge of making cancer care more accessible, equitable, and economically sustainable for generations to come.?
Sparking conversation and offering solutions???
Discussing access and sustainability issues can be challenging, but we believe it’s essential. Recently, we launched a series of commentaries on economic sustainability in cancer care
. They outline the principles that guide our work and point to potential solutions – within Genentech and beyond – that can help strengthen our healthcare system so that patients have access to the care they need. Specifically, these commentaries highlight how:
- Personalized healthcare
, in which we strive for every patient to receive the treatment that is precisely right for them, can be one of the most powerful drivers of economic sustainability in cancer care. With special emphasis on biomarker testing and on creative use of digital technology, the writers show how personalizing cancer care can help to eliminate waste and inefficiency and create a “learning loop” that allows medical practice to improve faster.
- Innovative pricing and payment reforms
can align incentives – for physicians, health systems, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies – and contribute toward the delivery of more effective and efficient patient care. We’re working with government agencies and other partners to pilot new cancer care reimbursement approaches and implement what works on a broader scale.??
- Creative drug delivery options and formulations
can lessen the burden of cancer on patients’ lives and livelihoods while reducing costs to the healthcare system. As a result of years of dedicated research, we can now provide certain patients and their oncologists with options like subcutaneous (under the skin) injections, combined formulations, and fixed-duration regimens that make treatment easier and more affordable without sacrificing effectiveness.
- Precise, widely accepted measures of value in cancer
are urgently needed to create a more economically sustainable future. Genentech is collaborating with stakeholders to help define value in cancer care and measure it in ways that truly matter, most of all to patients.?
- Responsible pricing
is essential, as medicines can be among the most visible and daunting costs that people with cancer face. We pursue thoughtful and principled pricing decisions and embrace innovative policy solutions that can foster market-based competition and increase pricing flexibility, and continually work to streamline our R&D.
Collaborating for patients, and for society?
The challenge of economic sustainability is, of course, bigger than any single company or industry. So the solutions we embrace involve active collaboration with other stakeholders across the cancer community – insurers, policymakers, regulators, cancer care providers, and of course patients. We’re excited about the future that collaboration will make possible, and to continue the conversation.?
Learn more about how we’re working toward a future where every cancer story has a better ending: https://www.gene.com/about-us/oncology
