Delivering Better Cancer Care to Those in Need
Removing barriers to better cancer care is a significant challenge in many countries worldwide. Partnering with different stakeholders across the health eco-system and playing our part to ensure that every patient has the opportunity to achieve optimal care is a responsibility that we at Bayer take seriously.
Learn more about the importance of collaboration in the fight against cancer:
The latest innovations in cancer care are not accessible to all patients for a variety of reasons, such as geography, lack of infrastructure to deliver care, delays in reimbursement for testing and treatment, and lack of awareness. This results in significant disparities in access to quality cancer care. Even within the same country, some patients have access to optimal treatment and care whilst others do not. Lack of access to comprehensive testing and early, optimal treatment can have a significant impact on the outcome of the therapy and thus on the life of the patients and their families.
We believe that every patient diagnosed with cancer should be able to access breakthrough innovations and medicines that are appropriate for them as an individual and can bring a meaningful difference to their lives.
Improving Access to Quality Cancer Care in Under-Served Communities
As part of the Oncology Sustainability Initiative at Bayer, we are working across the globe on projects that are primarily focused on improving access to quality cancer care for large, underserved communities in low- and middle-income countries – which experience disparities in access to cancer care.
India: Improving access to early cancer screening (Bayer partnership with NCI-AIIMS)
One landmark Oncology Sustainability project is the partnership between Bayer and the National Cancer Institute of India-All India Institute of Medical Sciences (NCI-AIIMS) located in Jhajjar, Haryana. This collaboration, which was initiated in 2021, brings cancer screening to patients at high risk of cancer in underserved rural communities in India, helping to reduce disparities in access to cancer care.
Currently, more than 4.5 million people in India suffer from cancer, which is one of the country’s growing non-communicable diseases. It is also the second leading cause of death in India, after cardiovascular disease.
Bayer continues to support this landmark project which is focused on targeted screening in high-risk individuals in order to detect cancer in its early stages and help ensure that patients receive timely treatment and care. Mobile technology is used so that screening, a starting point in quality cancer care, can be delivered to patients living in remote, rural locations.
The five-year initiative includes plans to launch screening programs for prostate, head and neck/oral cancer. It will enable screening of approximately 12,000 patients in the geographical vicinity of NCI, thereby enhancing cancer surveillance and benefitting individuals who may otherwise never be able to find quality cancer care.
Bayer-Karkinos Community Wellness Program
Early detection and screening of Cancers in Mumbai and Puducherry locations in India
In partnership with Karkinos Healthcare, Bayer aims to expand cancer screening and early cancer detection in Mumbai and Puducherry. This wellness program is a collaborative effort to build on synergies and to enhance the impact of our efforts for screening and early detection of cancers to reduce patient morbidity and reduce the financial expenditure for the treatment of cancers. The program plans to create a seamless care continuum through community and local institution collaborations, by engaging participants, conducting personalized risk assessments, performing screening tests, evaluating diagnostics, and referring positive cases for treatment.
The 2-year program initiated in 2023 aims to reach to 100, 000 individuals, focusing on awareness, risk assessment and inviting individuals for screening for oral, breast, cervix, colorectal, and prostate cancers as a part of a wellness program.
In this program, to date, 65 Health professionals have been trained in conducting risk assessment and screening, >30,000 risk assessments have been carried out, 6 health facilities (4 Primary Health Care, 2 rural clinics) set up, awareness campaign (26 sessions) arranged for >2000 people, 970 patients have been screened.
Egypt: Working with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population
In Egypt, liver cancer or hepato-cellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cancer in men, and the sixth most common in women.1 The HCC prevalence rate in the country is above the global average, yet patient outcomes remain below international standards.
Bayer initiated a collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) in 2021 to support access to HCC screening, diagnosis and treatment in the country and contribute to Presidential initiative of “100 Million Healthy Lives” for management of HCC.
This program has improved patient outcomes in Egypt by strengthening health care system to ensure quality of care as well as developing capacities through medical education, training programs and raising patient awareness. Educational workshops and trainings were conducted between 2021-23 resulting in more patients having access to systemic therapy and increasing the mean overall survival in HCC patients. More than 100 private and public HCC centers across Egypt are now equipped for disease screening and management. The initiative has also provided training to 370 Egyptian Health Care Providers. Specialized training was also provided to Health Care Professionals (HCP) -Hepatologists, Oncologists chosen by MOHP from different HCC centers across Egypt by participation in the Barcelona Clinic for Liver Cancer Preceptorship Program. These HCPs had the opportunity to learn from international renowned experts about their concepts and perspectives on diagnosis, treatment and research in field of liver cancer. Based on the results of the HCC initiative in Egypt, Bayer intends to develop Egypt as a Center of Excellence for HCC care in Africa and enable trained Egyptian HCPs to provide high quality preceptorship programs to HCPs in other African countries. 2,3
Ghana: Partnering with GIZ to improve prostate cancer awareness, screening and early diagnosis
Ghana: Partnering with GIZ to improve prostate cancer awareness, screening and early diagnosis
Bayer has entered into a public-private partnership with the German Government’s Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and facilitated through the develoPPP program, to invest in capacity building in Ghana for increased prostate cancer awareness, screening and early diagnosis. The goal of this partnership is to enable capacity building in order to improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients in Ghana and also create a long-term sustainable business model for prostate cancer care in Ghana.
As part of this collaboration, Bayer and GIZ are working closely with a number of stakeholder organizations across Ghana to achieve improvements in the overall quality of care for prostate cancer. These groups include the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), and the Ghana Association of Urological Surgeons.
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra is a leader in cancer care in Ghana and is a key referral center for prostate cancer patients with advanced disease.
As part of this collaboration, Bayer and GIZ will implement a number of activities to reach the goal of improving access to prostate cancer diagnostic services for 450,000 men in the Greater Accra region in Ghana. These include training and mentoring doctors on prostate cancer diagnosis at the participating health facilities, equipping facilities with diagnostic tools and establishing a long-term mobile biopsy service.
Ghana PC Awarness Campaign Social Media posts
- Ghanaweb "Germany and Ghana jointly launch the prostate cancer awareness campaign 'Real Men ACT'"
- German Development Cooperation, Bayer AG launch prostate cancer campaign | Ghana News Agency (gna.org.gh)
- Campaign on early detection of prostate cancer launched | Ghana News Agency (gna.org.gh)
- "Real Men ACT Campaign to address Prostate Cancer Launched"
- Business and Financial Times (B&FT) "Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign Launched" Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign launched - The Business & Financial Times (thebftonline.com)
- Zed Multimedia "GIZ, Bayer AG launched Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign"
- "Real Men ACT Campaign to address prostate cancer launched" Real Men Act Campaign to address Prostate Cancer Launched – Business Week Ghana
- Ghana Business News. "German Development Cooperation and Bayer AG launch prostate cancer campaign in Ghana"
- https://www.myjoyonline.com/no-herbal-medicine-has-been-approved-for-prostate-cancer-public-cautioned/
Bayer partners with BVGH- A Bayer Oncology Sustainability initiative in Africa
BAYER AG, a global leader in health care and nutrition with more than 150-year history has entered into a strategic partnership with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) a non-profit organization that builds and manages multinational public-private partnerships to improve cancer patient care and outcomes in Africa, including for patients suffering from Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).
Guided by Bayer’s vision "Health for all, Hunger for none" and its mission of creating equitable ecosystems of cancer care in underserved communities around the world which suffer from disparities in cancer outcomes, this partnership allows Bayer AG to strengthen cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa with an initial focus on HCC as the frontrunner initiative. Specifically, this collaboration will focus on enabling early diagnosis coordination of health services delivery and educating the next generation of healthcare providers.
HCC has a high mortality rate in Africa due to lack of early diagnosis, lack of access to trained health care providers, and lack of access to appropriate treatments. BVGH has made a significant impact in the African cancer care landscape since the launch of its African Access Initiative (AAI) in 2017. In this partnership with Bayer AG, BVGH will leverage its leadership in establishing public-private partnerships with ministries of health, health professionals, and community organizations. This three-year program (2023-25) will initially focus on the most populous African country, Nigeria, where there is a high incidence of HCC with the potential to expand to additional African countries in the future. The program will involve mapping health care systems and HCC landscape in Africa, increasing HCC awareness, providing training to health care providers and piloting HCC drug access programs.
Global Pediatric Brain Cancer Network
Creating an equitable ecosystem of care for pediatric brain cancer patients around the world
Pediatric brain cancer is a major global health issue that continues to pose significant challenges for patients, families, and healthcare providers. With an incidence rate of approximately 5.67 per 100,000 person-years in the US (Ostrom et al, 2019), it is the most common solid tumor in pediatrics and the leading cause of childhood cancer-related mortality. Despite recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances, the prognosis for many children with brain tumors remains poor, and treatments often have long-term sequelae (Malbari et al, 2020). Recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances have led to improvement in survival and quality of life for many children with CNS cancers (Cohen, 2022). There are disparities in survival among racial/ethnic minorities with pediatric brain tumors even within developed countries (Haizel-Cobbina et al, 2020) and more so between the developed and developing nations (Gupta et al, 2019).
The Global Pediatric Brain Cancer Network (GPBCN) is a new initiative that aims to create an equitable ecosystem of care for pediatric brain cancer patients around the world. The network will be a collaboration among Duke University, Bayer, the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), and other institutions and organizations, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bayer is one of the founding partners for this initiative and the 1st pilot project is initiated by Duke University, currently ongoing in Tanzania at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC).
The key objectives of GPBCN are:
- Connect cancer treatment centers in the United States with partner centers in countries in Africa and India/Asia as part of a global network, providing a continuum between clinical care and clinical research and utilizing a common digital platform for collaboration.
- Generate high-quality clinical data at partner centers and utilize data to better understand factors that contribute to improved patient experience and patient outcome.
- Contribute to the acceleration of new drug development by participating in multinational pediatric clinical trials, enabling earlier access to newer and more innovative therapies for patients in the United States, India, Africa, and other partner countries.
- Work to overcome geographical, financial, and cultural barriers to care for pediatric brain cancer patients.
- Engage Health Authorities to obtain feedback on regulatory harmonization/coordination for global pediatric brain cancer drug development and approvals.
Ukraine Prostate Cancer Initiative
Building local capacity to enhance equitable access to prostate cancer care in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in men. This high morbidity and mortality due to prostate cancer in Ukraine could be due to limited awareness of disease, late-stage of diagnosis, as well as gaps in affordability and access to care and may be reduced by timely initiation of optimal treatment.
This project was initiated in 2023 in partnership with Ministry of Health (MOH) Ukraine, International Institute of Management (MIM Kyiv), and Ukrainian Uro-Oncological Society to address the gaps in prostate cancer management.
The project aims to generate epidemiology data to estimate current need for funding and to gather expert recommendation on optimized treatment regimen. To this end, the MOH Ukraine will receive comprehensive data and expert recommendations to estimate current need in funding for prostate cancer management and to increase access to modern treatment. At the same, the project aims to raise awareness through a collaborative campaign with experts to improve timely initiation as well as optimization of treatment so that patients can experience better treatment outcomes.
Bayer’s partnership with UICC
Bayer has partnered with Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the cancer community to reduce the burden of cancer.
UICC’s mission is to both unite and support the cancer community in its efforts to reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity and ensure that cancer control remains a priority on the global health and development agenda. It pursues these goals by bringing together global leaders through innovative and far-reaching cancer-control events and initiatives, building capacities to meet regional needs and developing awareness campaigns.
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is the largest global membership organisation dedicated to taking action against cancer. Founded in 1933, UICC has over 1,150 member organisations in 172 countries and territories. It enjoys consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and has official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). UICC has over 50 partners, including associations, companies and foundations committed to the fight against cancer. UICC is a founding member of the NCD Alliance, the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer and the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP) and established the City Cancer Challenge Foundation in January 2019 and the Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM) Coalition in 2022.
This partnership aligns with Bayer’s mission to provide exceptional care to cancer patients and their families, and to urge for more global engagement on cancer, mobilizing solutions and partnerships that will tackle the growing cancer burden in all countries.
Looking towards the future
Whether it is through educational campaigns, projects that make cancer screening and diagnosis more accessible, or by enabling health services to increase their capacity to provide better care, this initiative is aimed at enhancing health equity in underserved communities around the globe. It works towards our collective goals as members of the cancer care ecosystem to save as many lives as possible from cancer and to make a positive difference to the lives of all those affected by it.
Bayer is committed to continuing to drive forward innovative and impactful, new initiatives focused on underserved communities in partnership with leading organizations in order to help address inequities in cancer care across the world. Together we can make ‘Health for All’ a reality for people with cancer around the globe and ensure that no-one is left behind.
Learn more about the importance of collaboration in the fight against cancer.