Technological innovation is vital in the fight against cancer

Innovation, access to care, and drug regulation are vital aspects in the fight against cancer. Each of these issues was addressed at the recent forum organized in Panama City by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche , which focused on rethinking more timely and sustainable ways to reach more cancer patients in Latin America.

"The true value of innovation lies not only in discovering new therapies, but in ensuring that they arrive on time, are sustainable, and truly transform lives," said Álvaro Soto, general manager of Roche for Central America, the Caribbean, and Venezuela, at "Sohmmit Latam 2025," a forum that brought together more than 300 experts in oncology and hematology from May 16 to 17.

Soto explained to EFE that "this forum is organized at the Latin American level in the areas of oncology and hematology" to showcase what Roche "brings new in the management and care of cancer and hematology. And we have delved into breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, and hematology."

Innovation, access to treatments and decentralization

Roche emphasizes the need to redefine the value of healthcare innovation, which involves comprehensively considering the social, clinical, and economic impact of life-changing medical solutions.

The company has promoted initiatives with the region's healthcare systems through non-traditional purchasing models, such as results-based agreements in Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Mexico, or strategic alliances that allow it to anticipate structural barriers that hinder therapeutic progress.

In this sense, Roche highlights that, currently, The cancer care model in many Latin American countries is concentrated in large cities. This limits access to diagnosis and treatment for patients in rural areas, making decentralization of care an essential strategy.

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During the forum, successful experiences and models were presented that demonstrate how bringing care closer to the territories not only improves clinical outcomes but also optimizes system resources.

"In breast and lung cancer, for example, we have not only developed new molecules, but also new forms of administration, such as subcutaneous therapies that patients can receive at home, reducing treatment times and improving their quality of life," explained Dr. Carlos Sandoval, Roche's medical director for Central America, the Caribbean, and Venezuela.

Thus, it works in personalized medicine and develops medications that have a "high probability" of curing breast cancer, as well as drugs that offer subcutaneous administration. These significantly reduce the time people spend in hospitals, which leads to "reductions in (treatment) investments," Soto says.

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The lifeblood of this company "is research. We are, without a doubt, one of the 10 companies in the world, in any field, that invests the most in research (...), reinvesting more than 20% of what we sell," adds the Roche manager for Central America, the Caribbean, and Venezuela.

The urgency of accelerating regulatory processes so that innovation benefits more people in less time was one of the forum's central themes.

There, for example, the regulatory delays between 2006 and 2021 in lung cancer were addressed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 24 innovative treatments, but by 2021, only 70% were available in Argentina, 67% in Mexico, and 60% in Colombia.

According to the study "Clinical and economic impact of the availability of innovative therapies for advanced lung cancer in Latin America," Roche said. This difference is estimated to translate into more than 8,600 preventable deaths and a loss of productivity of $439 million.

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AO