Events Calendar

Euractiv organises policy events (hybrid, virtual, in-person) in Brussels and other European capitals.

Euractiv Events

Innovation in oncology - Can science make cancer a manageable disease?

15-10-2018

Innovation in oncology - Can science make cancer a manageable disease?

In Europe, more than 3 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. But recent advances in cancer treatment have offered new hope to those battling the disease.

Global research efforts to fight cancer have been increasing since the 1970s and have aimed to turn this disease from being fatal to being chronic and manageable. Success in this regard depends on intensive collaboration among scientific, medical, technological and pharmaceutical companies. The last few years have seen an explosion of new discoveries. Innovative healthcare technologies, strategies and services offer the potential to save, improve and extend the lives of millions of people diagnosed each year.

Improvements include: the speed and accuracy of diagnostic procedures, the effectiveness of surgery or radiation therapy, and the development of approaches to care. Gene editing techniques , (e.g. CRISPR and others) are being explored to recognise and kill cancer cells. There are however many barriers still to be overcome such as the access of patients to all innovative treatments and improving the quality of cancer care.

EURACTIV invites you to this high-level workshop to explore what should be done further to improve access to innovation and how health systems should develop in the coming years. Questions will include:

- How could the EU Framework improve in order to make room for innovative solutions?
- How to standardise an access strategy for all patients to innovative treatments?
- What are the barriers to further stimulate progress in tackling the disease?
- How have cancer patient outcomes improved over the past years? What more can be done?
- How are health systems dealing with new discoveries and how quickly are they coming to market?

Supported by:

Novartis

Location

Residence Palace
Rue de la Loi 155, 1048 Bruxelles

Panellists

Lieve Wierinck, Member European Parliament
Marc Peeters, Head of Oncology Department, The Antwerp University Hospital
Michael Zaiac, Head of Medical Affairs Oncology Region Europe, Novartis

Moderator

Sarantis Michalopoulos, Journalist, EURACTIV

Schedule

17:00 – 17:30 Registration
17:30 – 18:00 Opening statements
18:00 – 19:00 Discussion and Q&A
19:00 – 19:30 Networking drink

Contact

Simona Ovesea
simona.ovesea@euractiv.com
+32 (0)2 788 36 86

Related article

MEP: Need for an EU-wide cancer plan to ensure long-term pharma innovation

MEP: Need for an EU-wide cancer plan to ensure long-term pharma innovation

The creation of an EU cancer plan will improve EU citizens’ medical needs and access but will also simultaneously help bring innovations to the market, through enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, according to Belgian MEP Lieve Wierinck.

Highlights video