Thursday, November 21 – Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (CCA) and Cure4Cancer has published “Advancing Global Health Equity: Expanding the U.S.-Australia Cancer Alliance Toward an Asia-Pacific Collaborative Effort to Save Millions of Lives.” The report is the second in Cure4Cancer’s series on Advancing Global Health Equity, and it builds on the framework of the international collaboration and regulatory harmonization on cancer clinical trials.

Clinical trials are essential for developing new treatments and improving existing therapies, yet less than 5% of cancer patients globally are enrolled in them. The report uses the “hub-and-spoke" partnership between Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and Sydney’s leading cancer research institutions partnership as a case study for improving access to clinical trials. In this kind of network, “spokes” can conduct high-quality trials without extensive local infrastructure by leveraging the resources of the “hub,” thus enhancing operational efficiency and facilitating advancements in cancer treatment.

“The international collaboration between the United States and Australia on cancer treatment exemplifies the profound impact that strategic partnerships can have on global health outcomes,” reads the report. “By working together, the United States and Australia leverage their unique strengths and resources, accelerating the development of innovative cancer therapies and improving patient care. This example of openness, transparency, and inclusivity in clinical trial harmonization seeks to serve as a compelling model and call to action for other countries in the APAC region to both learn from and directly participate in.”

“Collaboration across borders is the cornerstone of progress in cancer care. This report underscores a transformative vision: that by breaking down barriers to collaboration and prioritizing equity in clinical trials, we can not only advance cancer treatment but also redefine the future of global health equity. Through international collaboration and regulatory harmonization, equitable access to life-saving treatments is not just an ideal but an achievable goal”, said Jing Qian, one of the co-authors of the report, co-founder of Cure4Cancer, and Managing Director of CCA, “By fostering inclusive networks and prioritizing shared prosperity, equity, and innovation, we can deliver breakthroughs in oncology to patients across the APAC region and beyond, saving millions of lives and reshaping global health for the betterment of all humanity.”

The report calls for the simultaneous expansion of multilateral collaboration across the Asia-Pacific (APAC), a region that represents the world's largest and fastest growing economy, and where cancer care disparities are vast. The authors draw upon international and multilateral organizational meetings to provide concrete policy recommendations for a hypothetical APAC cancer clinical trial collaborative platform.

Download the full report here, and learn more by visiting https://cure4cancerglobal.org/.

To get in touch with the Center for China Analysis, Cure4Cancer, or one of the report’s authors, please email [email protected].

Cure4Cancer Initiative

Cure4Cancer (C4C) is an international movement that brings together patients, clinicians, scientists, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, philanthropists, the media, and other closely related stakeholders in the global fight against cancer. The international movement is sustained through multi-stakeholder collaboration and cross-pollination among its global partners; thus, it cannot be limited to any single institution or country.

Its mission is to accelerate the development of cancer cures and prevention through increased public awareness, cooperation, and regulatory harmonization on patient-centric international clinical trials.

The Asia Society Policy Institute is the movement’s policy research and operational arm. Other partners include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition.

This is the second Cure4Cancer report of a series that will study global health equity in other countries and regions including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America – as no country or region is spared the burden of cancer. This first report will provide readers with a background on international cancer trials and show how the first case study on China, the country with the greatest cancer burden and highest number of cancer deaths, may help advance global health equity and accelerate the “cure for cancer” through regulatory harmonization initiatives such as Project Orbis.

The Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis

Presenting consistently independent and objective analysis with policy impact, the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis prioritizes Chinese language source material, emphasizes third-country analyses of China’s international engagement, and actively engages with counterpart institutions around the world as it aims to become one of the world’s leading centers for the study of China and its global role.