In recent years, breast cancer has become a common cancer afflicting women, known as the "pink killer" of women's health. According to the global cancer data in 2020 released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, women's breast cancer will surpass lung cancer for the first time in 2020, becoming a common cancer in the world, accounting for 11.7% of new cancer cases.
According to the National Cancer Report 2024, 357200 new cases of breast cancer will occur in China in 2022, ranking second among the common malignant tumors among women, and the mortality rate is fifth. The 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced breast cancer is only 20%, and the median total survival time is 2-3 years. The high incidence rate of breast cancer and the low survival rate of advanced breast cancer have brought a heavy burden to patients and society.
The "Healthy China 2030" Plan Outline (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan Outline") proposes the goal of increasing the overall 5-year survival rate of cancer in China by 15% by 2030. Guidelines for screening, early diagnosis and early treatment of key cancers such as gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer with high incidence rate and relatively mature screening means and technical schemes are formulated. This puts forward higher requirements for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
At present, breast cancer has entered the era of chronic disease management. Lai Minglong, global senior vice president of AstraZeneca, general manager of AstraZeneca China and general manager of tumor business, said that after breast cancer became a chronic disease, from the policy point of view, it was more delegated to the grass-roots level and counties, and the task of early screening and early diagnosis needs to start from the grass-roots level; On the disease side, treatment methods are constantly changing, and standardization, precision, and full course management are key.
AstraZeneca China actively responds to the national call and adheres to the "patient-centered" digital innovation strategy. It actively promotes the application of digital technology in healthcare, operations, education, and channels, achieving full disease coverage and wide coverage, leading the digital transformation wave of the medical industry, and empowering the healthy China goal to be achieved as soon as possible.
"We will also promote multi-party cooperation in the field of breast cancer through supporting activities such as the 'Beijing Breast Health Industry Conference', which is one of the 'Zhongguancun Forum' series of activities. We hope to work together with all parties to promote the high-quality development of China's breast cancer health industry and contribute to the Healthy China 2030 goal.".
Diversified product pipeline
Cancer is a very important strategic area for AstraZeneca. According to AstraZeneca's 2023 financial report, the total revenue was $45.811 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6%. Among them, the revenue in the cancer treatment field increased by 21% year-on-year, accounting for 40% of the total revenue, the highest proportion.
As of February 2024, AstraZeneca has 102 research projects in the global cancer field (including 15 in Phase I, 11 in Phase II, 23 in Phase III, and 53 LCM projects), covering multiple cancers such as lung cancer, breast cancer cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and blood tumors. Many product pipelines under research have entered the critical stage of clinical trials.
In terms of breast cancer, AstraZeneca has accompanied patients worldwide for more than 40 years, and has deployed a number of innovative products, covering breast cancer patients in different stages and types from early to late.
In recent years, AstraZeneca has continued to build a diversified breast cancer product pipeline in China through independent research and cooperative research and development. On the one hand, AstraZeneca has developed a cornerstone drug for endocrine therapy, covering HR positive breast cancer patients from early to late, from pre menopause to post menopause.
On the other hand, AstraZeneca has also cooperated with many enterprises in research and development, such as the first joint development of ADC drugs with First Third Party, which is also the first ADC drug introduced by AstraZeneca in China, changing the treatment pattern of advanced HER2 breast cancer. The financial report shows that the drug's revenue increased by 95% year-on-year last year.
"We are continuing to develop innovative treatment methods such as ADC drugs, PARP inhibitors, AKT inhibitors, and oral SERDs, hoping to change the future of breast cancer patients." Lai Minglong said that it is expected to bring three innovative drugs and more than 10 new indications to Chinese breast cancer patients by 2027. In addition, AstraZeneca hopes to one day eliminate breast cancer, the cause of death, and that by 2030, one in every three breast cancer patients in the world will benefit from AstraZeneca's innovative drugs.
AstraZeneca will continue to achieve new breakthroughs in the field of oncology, and with the AstraZeneca Global R&D China Center becoming one of AstraZeneca's five strategic R&D centers, the Chinese R&D team's in-depth layout in high-risk disease areas in China and its leadership in global R&D processes in some disease areas will further benefit cancer patients in China and around the world. "At present, the tumor field, including breast cancer, is one of the disease fields focused on by AstraZeneca's research and development in China. I believe that in the future, Chinese data and Chinese doctors will certainly bring good news to more tumor patients on the international clinical stage." Lai Minglong said.
Promote the precision and standardization of diagnosis and treatment
Since 2009, the Chinese government has carried out the "two cancers" screening project among women nationwide, which has played a great role in improving the cure rate of early breast cancer.
However, the 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced breast cancer in China is only 20%, which is still far from the overall cancer survival goal proposed in the planning outline. In addition, there are significant regional differences in the 5-year survival rate of breast cancer patients in China. From 2012 to 2015, the 5-year survival rate of women with breast cancer in urban and rural areas was 84.9% and 72.9%, respectively. The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer still has a long way to go.
Lai Minglong believes that there are still some challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer from the perspective of three stages: pre diagnosis, diagnosis and post diagnosis. First, the uneven distribution of technology and resources in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in different regions and different medical institutions, especially in grass-roots counties, led to uneven levels of diagnosis and treatment; Secondly, pathological examination, as the gold standard for cancer diagnosis, requires more accurate diagnostic techniques to improve diagnostic accuracy; Thirdly, with the efforts of all sectors of the industry, the 5-year survival rate of breast cancer patients has improved significantly, which means that patients need more long-term management and follow-up, but the prominent contradiction is still the problem of long-term insufficient supply of medical resources.
In order to promote the solution of these problems, AstraZeneca supported the National Cancer Center to launch the "breast cancer Comprehensive Standardization Center" project (hereinafter referred to as the "project") at this conference, and will work together to promote the deepening of the "patient-centered" full course and full cycle management model, reduce the disease burden of breast cancer in China and improve the quality of life and life of breast cancer patients from the aspects of accurate diagnosis, standardized treatment, digital intelligence management, etc. of breast cancer.
In terms of precise diagnosis, the project aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of diagnostic classification through digital pathology construction; In terms of standardized treatment, relying on the national cancer center breast cancer single disease quality control expert network, promote regional diagnosis and treatment standardization; In terms of digital management, digital dual wheel drive empowers patient-centered disease course management and companionship, as well as doctor-centered disease management and research.
According to Lai Minglong, AstraZeneca also attaches great importance to technological breakthroughs, emphasizing the combination of big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies to better promote the accuracy and standardization of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. For example, AstraZeneca actively embraces artificial intelligence, explores and comprehensively develops digitalization, empowers the transformation and upgrading of the medical and health industry, and promotes the full course management of cancer. The breast cancer comprehensive standard center project launched at the conference plans to empower 100 medical units with digital and intelligent follow-up technology, especially in personalized follow-up services, intelligent questions and answers based on big language models, remote monitoring and early warning.
"We hope to support the National Cancer Center in promoting precision and standardization of diagnosis and treatment, further standardizing the diagnosis and treatment process. At the same time, we also want to change patient prognosis through the combination of big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies, and support doctors in conducting more personalized follow-up. In fact, in this process, the problem of medical imbalance will also be alleviated to a certain extent, because on the one hand, we can strengthen the training of oncologists, and on the other hand, we can empower doctors in the field of pathology through auxiliary technology.".
Joining hands with multiple parties to jointly build an ecosystem
In the face of competition in the Chinese pharmaceutical market, AstraZeneca not only actively introduces innovative drugs for breast cancer treatment, but also takes the lead in the industry in proposing the concept of building an ecosystem, aiming to strengthen accurate diagnosis and treatment, optimize patient experience, and provide care and support through extensive cooperation in the ecosystem.
In terms of strengthening precision diagnosis and treatment, in 2022, AstraZeneca will jointly establish the MET and HER2 Cancer Precision Diagnosis Alliance with 10 enterprises including First Three Comics, Hehuang Pharmaceutical, Roche Diagnostics, Ed Biotech, and Dienga Technology; In addition, the HER2 artificial intelligence pathological auxiliary diagnosis software developed in cooperation with Dienga Technology has obtained the Class II medical device registration certificate, which can be used to improve the interpretation accuracy and film reading efficiency of breast cancer HER2 immunohistochemistry. At present, it has been applied in many hospitals, and is also exploring the landing application in regional diagnostic centers, third-party laboratories and overseas markets.
In terms of optimizing patient experience, especially the management of out of hospital infusion, AstraZeneca, together with a third party such as Gaoji Medical, supports the creation of a DTP breast cancer patient care center to provide professional and comprehensive services and warm companionship for breast cancer patients.
In terms of providing care and support for patients, AstraZeneca actively supports third-party foundations and associations, builds a platform for breast cancer patients' care and science popularization, supports diversified activities such as patient education and patient care, and helps patients build confidence in cancer prevention. Since 2017, AstraZeneca has been one of the supporting parties, assisting third-party foundations in building the "Love Carrying" public welfare project for female cancer patients, providing professional science popularization and patient education, and collaborating with doctors, rehabilitation organizations, and caring enterprises to jointly organize online and offline patient activities. As of December 2023, the project has served more than 150000 patients.
"Through the Beijing Breast Health Industry Conference, AstraZeneca will continue to strengthen government enterprise cooperation, focus on innovation in China, establish the industry's first breast health innovation park in Beijing, help innovative enterprises settle in, explore high potential opportunities in the ecosystem, and jointly promote the high-quality development of integrated breast cancer diagnosis and treatment," said Lai Minglong.
AstraZeneca is also making continuous efforts and innovation in promoting the drug accessibility of breast cancer patients, from the establishment of multi-level payment systems such as early access, commercial insurance, patient assistance, medical insurance and other innovative programs, to better reduce the economic and psychological burden of patients suffering from diseases, and improve the accessibility and affordability of drug use for patients.
"For example, in order to meet the demand of patients with advanced breast cancer for innovative antibody coupling drugs, AstraZeneca and its partners have explored multi-level payment methods such as Hainan first trial, commercial insurance, and urban people's benefit insurance, which has greatly reduced the financial burden of families with breast cancer patients." Lai Minglong said that many of AstraZeneca's endocrine therapy drugs for breast cancer have been included in the national medical insurance, and supported the Charity Foundation to launch breast cancer charity assistance projects. Over the years, it has helped tens of thousands of breast cancer patients to benefit from the treatment of innovative drugs, reducing the financial burden of patients and families.