Medical innovations bring immense hope, particularly in the fight against cancer.
Among them, immunotherapy for which MSD was a pioneer.
This treatment, the principle of which is to stimulate the immune defenses so that they attack malignant cells, is already used in several types of cancer at early or advanced stages.
Researchers continue to explore this therapeutic approach, which is rich in promise, in particular in order to be able to fight many cancers at an ever earlier stage.
For MSD, the pharmaceutical laboratory which is conducting nearly 120 clinical trials in oncology in France, the ambition is clear: to make as many people as possible benefit from this progress, as soon as possible.
Promoting early access to new treatments
Guest of the show
Sur un plateau
, Clarisse Lhoste, president of MSD in France, recalled that if
“we are in our country lucky enough to be able to benefit from care for all, the regulatory stages of reimbursement of a Therapeutic innovation takes on average between twelve and eighteen months.
However, certain diseases, such as cancers, some of which still have a very poor prognosis, do not wait.
»
To avoid wasting precious time in the case of serious pathologies, the laboratory relies on the “early access” system, which allows
faster access to innovations
to the patient.
Since the reform of this system in 2021, MSD has obtained seven authorizations in oncology.
More than 8,000 people were able to benefit more quickly from this latest generation immunotherapy treatment.
In parallel with the diagnosis and early treatment of cancers, another battle is being played out: that of prevention.
Intervene upstream thanks to preventive medicine
Olivier Babeau, economist and president of the Sapiens Institute, underlined during the program the need for French medicine to make a strong cultural change.
“To bring more life chances to patients, the key is that our medicine, which is curative, turns towards a new model, that of prevention
,” he assured.
Although there is still a way to go, the issue is now recognized and a real dynamic has been established.
As proof, the existence of vaccination to prevent infections linked to the papillomavirus (HPV), which are responsible each year in France for around 6,400 new cases of cancer according to the National Cancer Institute.
There is nevertheless a huge disparity in vaccination coverage depending on the region,
“some have a vaccination rate of 55%, while others are at 15%”
, regretted Clarisse Lhoste.
Properly informing the public is therefore also a priority for the MSD laboratory.
FR-CMM-00619 / January 2024