MADRID, February 2 (EUROPE PRESS) –
On the occasion of World Cancer Day, which will be celebrated next Thursday, Spanish experts in the OncoRetos group have called for the implantation of genetic tests to detect biomarkers, that is, mutations that cause tumors, in the National System of Health (SNS).
In this sense, they recall that there is currently no protocol in this regard, so access to this strategy is very uneven, leading to a loss of opportunities for patients who cannot benefit from current existing drugs compared to the treatment of your tumor.
In particular, the OncoRetos group, promoted by Luzán 5 Health Consulting, warns against the need to have in the public system a portfolio of services, dynamic and flexible, including the determination of predictive biomarkers of treatment effectiveness, for an “effective and sustainable” implementation of precision medicine applied to the treatment of cancer.
This is reflected by this group of experts in the report ‘Precision Medicine in Oncology: an analysis of the needs and opportunities in Spain’, recently published with the collaboration of Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche.
They make this recommendation after reviewing plans and initiatives at the national and international levels and verifying that “there is still a long way to go in the implementation of precision medicine applied to cancer, especially in the field of molecular diagnosis”, as and as explained in the document.
However, they celebrate that last September the Department of Health approved a call to launch the Precision Medicine-Related Science and Technology (IMPaCT) infrastructure. For one of the four directors of OncoRetos, Carlos Mur, it is “a promising first step” toward Spain’s personalized medicine strategy, although he acknowledges that “this declaration of intent still has a long way to go before it is achieved. “
In line with this government initiative, the expert group believes that a national strategy is necessary, with adequate planning and provision of resources, “which ensures technical quality, equality criteria in access to precision medicine strategies for patients. Cancer patients, but also more efficient use of new drugs that have taken so much work and money to develop, ”said the project’s coordinator, Joaquín Mateo.
LACK OF THE STATE PLAN IS A LOSS FOR THE PATIENTS
For its part, OncoRetos director, Pilar Garrido, points out that the absence of a state plan implies “a huge loss of opportunity for patients”. On the other hand, it confirms that if not addressed in a short period of time, the opportunity to position itself at the forefront of the industrial and technological development necessary for the implementation of precision medicine would be lost.
They also point out that given the inclusion of a new drug in the NHS therapeutic arsenal associated with a patient selection test with biomarkers, a logistics and funding plan must be put in place to perform these tests within the same health system. For example, the group’s co-director, Boi Ruiz, thinks “common sense” that the approval of a drug whose indication is linked to a biomarker test should automatically include this in the determination.
Not surprisingly, they also recommend conducting diagnostic tests in accredited centers and are committed to establishing molecular advisory committees to help interpret the tests and make decisions regarding the results.
Likewise, Josep Tabernero, also responsible for OncoRetos, stresses that “funding for the implementation of precision medicine must be linked to the needs of patients, so that access to tests and treatments must be guaranteed under equal conditions, regardless of the time or place where the healthcare received, ”he repeated.
By taking these measures, they believe that the shortcomings and inequalities observed in Spain in the implantation of and access to these types of drugs can be alleviated. As they have noted, molecular diagnosis is not available to all hospital centers due to the heterogeneity of the integration of these techniques between hospitals. From OncoRetos, they warn that there is unequal access to diagnosis and thus to the drug, depending on where the patient is being treated.
On the other hand, they also criticize that, while the approval of medicines is regulated by strict data quality assessment programs, similar quality processes are not required for the inclusion of new tests related to said medicines, as there is no standardized procedure nor a specific regulatory framework for the evaluation, implementation or funding of biomarker tests.
Therefore, they are urging the administration to establish a specific regulatory framework for the implementation and funding of precision medicine in Spain, as this will improve patient care and boost economic growth.