Cancerworld recently published an article by Ann Wagstaff titled Begging for imatinib: why do so many patients still lack access to this lifesaver? It highlights the challenges people living with CML face in accessing imatinib, a life-extending medicine that has been generic for many years. Here is our perspective on the story.
We have known for some time that most innovative drugs are not available in low-middle income countries (LMICs) and that patients needlessly suffer without treatment. The Max Foundation bridges this gap by developing access models in LMICs in collaboration with it partners to help patients in urgent need.
This article is important because it dispels common myths about access to innovative medicines after patient expiry in LMICs and underscores that availability of treatments does not by itself create access for patients. These myths prevent progress. By telling the story of one of the first orphan drugs in cancer and what took place when the originator lost patent exclusivity, the article highlights three critical lessons that we must consider when developing solutions:
To achieve access for all, we must put the patient first and act as a global community instead of pushing responsibility on one another. As a first step, we must agree on a definition of access meaning that it only exists when all patients are able to receive the right treatment and the right dose at the right time.
Only by putting the needs of patients’ first and working together as a community can we drive lasting changes that will deliver real solutions for patients in need.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
This year, each of us had to learn how to support one another amid a global pandemic. In these difficult times, our mental and physical health have been tested and finding daily comforts is critical to our health. As each of us has taken steps to avoid infecting ourselves and reducing the risk of infecting….
The Indian subcontinent has always been characterized by the stoic inner strength of its population that has helped them overcome natural and man-made disasters that seem to always be lying in wait for them. Burdened by their large populations, poor economy and the inept administration of their largely unstable governments, it has fallen upon the people to come to their own rescue.
And it is not so different for their health either. Besides the share of debilitating infectious diseases, many are facing a rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer. The challenges here go beyond funding. There is fear, denial, and the heavy burden of stigma.
Nothing is more powerful than storytelling, especially when it’s told from a person’s first-hand experience.
In the Asia Pacific region, we are often known as “shy” community. We do not often share our stories publicly, especially a story about cancer diagnosis. We often have no one to turn to because we do not want our parents to worry; we do not want our children to feel the burden; we do not want to tell our neighbors who might be starting to avoid us because we are diagnosed with cancer.
