Truly Embracing Our Golden Era of Medical Innovation

Most pharmaceutical companies will tell you how innovative they are. It’s often true, but innovation alone isn’t what sets us apart; rather, it’s a shared cornerstone of our industry. We are now in an era where we’re witnessing breakthroughs that once seemed impossible.

These innovations are at the heart of what we do, finding new ways to improve, change, and save lives. However, to ensure they continue reaching those who need them most I believe there are three key areas on which we should focus.

Providing Every Diagnostic Tool Possible

How familiar are you with the phrase “biomarker testing”? It’s a technology which allows physicians to identify proteins, genes or other markers to treat a patient with personalized medicine, which tailors treatment to individual needs—and one of the most transformative advancements in healthcare today.

This approach has transformed the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers, including lung cancer, where understanding a patient’s biomarker status can significantly improve their quality of life and extend survival. Unfortunately, despite its proven value, the uptake of biomarker testing remains inconsistent, as innovation has outpaced the infrastructure necessary for widespread implementation. The result of this is patients discovering they need certain therapies or care once it is too late to treat them as effectively as it could have been.

As we continue to push the boundaries of what science can offer, we are equally focused on expanding the use of biomarker testing and reducing obstacles for timely access to those. As a key component of precision medicine, it is a tool which not only drives better patient outcomes but can also help address disparities in care, ensuring more people can benefit from the latest advancements. In addition, it also ensures health care systems are spending resources where we know outcomes will be better.

Protecting Innovations Which Promote Health Equity

The journey from discovery to delivery is filled with both triumphs and challenges. The victory of confirming that a medicine works is sometimes counterbalanced by then bringing that medicine to patients. Clinical regulations are correctly rigorous, but new legislation can have unintended negative effects.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2022, is one such challenge. ?Although well-intentioned, and having positive impact on certain areas, it has also introduced complexities that could slow the development of life-saving therapies, especially for rare diseases and cancers.

As an example of this unintended consequence, the IRA indirectly imposes penalties on manufacturers who prioritize orphan indications—therapies for rare diseases and cancers—creating barriers that could prevent patients from accessing the newest, most innovative treatments. In years to come, this will reverse the positive impact already made by the Orphan Drug Act, which was passed 40 years ago specifically to help find treatments for these rare and orphan diseases.

This also poses a significant barrier to achieving health equity, as these therapies are crucial for reaching populations who may not have easy access to healthcare, yet the current legislative framework hinders their availability. These policies also ripple into the broader landscape of personalized medicine, where ongoing innovation is essential to delivering effective care.

Restricting innovation and access could have a trickle-down effect that disparately impacts communities of color—a trend we are committed to reversing. For instance, African Americans have higher mortality rates for many types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and lung cancer—all with potential treatments in our development pipeline. Similarly, Hispanic and African American women have higher rates of cervical cancer, while American Indians/Alaskan Natives have higher mortality rates from kidney cancer. Without support for innovation, we risk exacerbating existing health inequities and failing the communities that need our help the most.

Be Ambitious for Patients

Ultimately, companies are simply collections of people—people who have been, or will be, patients. At AstraZeneca, we understand the inner workings of healthcare, which is why we’re committed to being champions for current and future patients.

Our commitment to continuous innovation and adaptation is driven by the goal of improving healthcare access and outcomes for patients around the world. And it is a goal we can achieve by driving significant innovation for patients across oncology, biopharmaceuticals, and rare diseases, while investing in novel ideas that will shape the future of medicine.

As we navigate a rapidly changing environment, we remain dedicated to advancing science—and advocating for patient access and policies that support our vision. Together, we will shape a future where everyone has access to the best that science can offer.

This year, we announced our plan to launch 20 new medicines by 2030 and, as we look to the future, I am more optimistic than I have ever been for patients and our ability to care for them. We are in a golden era of innovation—one that, just a few years ago, would have seemed like fantasy. But we are nowhere near finished. With the right policy environment, increased access to testing and treatment, and an ongoing ambition to uncover new, ground-breaking approaches to treatment, we can work together to ensure patients across the world can have that same hope for a healthier future.

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