There have been many advances in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment in the last decade and there is every reason for optimism about the future.
Accord Healthcare, which supplies the NHS with one-in-nine of all UK medicines and Europe with one-third of all its injectable cancer treatments, is at the forefront of the drive to transform treatment. But the company recognises that success needs far more than effective medicines.
Patient engagement is also essential to ensure patients get the best treatment as early as possible in the disease cycle. Joe Dunford, Accord Healthcare vice-president, specialty brands for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, says: “It’s essential that men with possible prostate cancer symptoms visit their GP. The earlier prostate cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat”.
In 2022 Prostate Cancer UK estimated that there could be 14,000 men in the UK living with undiagnosed prostate cancer. The coronavirus pandemic left men unable to visit hospitals, a likely contributing factor. But there was and still is widespread concern that vulnerable men delay seeking help, sometimes because of embarrassment about the prospect of an intimate examination.
This is why Accord Healthcare works in partnership with patient groups. Dunford says: “These groups do so much not only in raising awareness about prostate cancer, but in supporting those going through a really frightening time after diagnosis.
“The information and support from groups is not just for the patient, but for the whole family. We all know someone that has been affected by cancer and how hard it hits families, including children.”
Centring the patient experience
Accord Healthcare’s ‘patient-centric’ commitment led to a partnership with leading cancer organisations such as the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the world’s first hospital dedicated exclusively to cancer treatment, diagnosis and research; Macmillan Cancer Support; and Care Across, which provides patients with easy to understand, peer-reviewed information, psychological support and other tools.
In 2021 this partnership produced the Unify Health app. Dunford explained: “This helps patients monitor their symptoms on a daily basis and advises on how to best manage them. Being well-informed can help patients feel more in control. The app also links patients to local pharmacies if they have specific questions or concerns. Having a record of symptoms can also help care teams tailor patients’ treatment plans.”
The aim is to have a positive effect on patient outcomes by enabling people to maximise the time they have with their healthcare team
The app is just one example of Accord Healthcare responding to feedback from healthcare professionals and patient support groups to position patients as a partner in their care. It’s why work is now underway to develop dedicated patient programmes, created with prostate cancer patient insights to support them with information and tools to take more informed, proactive decisions in their healthcare, through shared decision making.
The aim is to have a positive effect on patient outcomes by enabling people to maximise the time they have with their healthcare team, ensure they understand all the options available to them and feel empowered to voice their preferences.
Another area is the development of an innovative medicine delivery system to treat cancer with pills instead of injections. “This might seem like a small, incremental gain,” says Dunford, “but it means patients don’t have to go to hospital. This can make a big difference to their quality of life. We’re always trying to produce the very best for our patients by giving people a choice.”
Accord Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical companies, selling medicine in more than 80 countries as well as playing a pivotal part in the NHS. Its two UK factories, in Devon and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, produce more than 5.9 billion tablets annually. The company also has the UK’s largest, manufacturer-owned, pharma distribution centre and a critically important research and development (R&D) laboratory based in London.
What is the key to innovative success? Dunford replied: “The challenge is trying to second guess what rival companies are doing and how cancer treatments are changing. What makes staying ahead so challenging is that it can take up to 15 years to develop a new medicine and up to eight years or more before a new compound begins clinical trials.”
Cost is also a factor — drug development is not surprisingly dubbed pharmaceutical roulette. The average R&D cost for taking a new medicine from discovery to launch was $2.3bn in both 2022 and 2023, according to Deloitte,which provides financial advisory services to large corporations and governments.
A 2022 paper published by the US National Institute for Health reported that about 90% of clinical drug development fails testing. Accord Healthcare’s success is based on its strategic approach of balancing generics, hospital and specialty brands medicines. It produces generic medicines resulting in affordable, effective drugs across the world. (After patents on branded medicine expire, other companies are free to produce equally effective generic versions.)
The company is also a leading manufacturer of ‘biosimilars’, a highly similar version of a biologic, a medicine derived from living cells and organisms. Biosimilars treat a wide range of conditions, including cancers. The company’s generic and biosimilar medicines support cost reduction for healthcare systems, Dunford points out, by freeing up resources to pay for more expensive treatments and research into new medicines.
This includes Accord Healthcare’s own research. In the last ten years, it has increasingly shifted its emphasis towards cancer. It has more than 40 cancer or cancer-related treatments and hopes that its 800 R&D scientists will help to increase this number. About 20 treatments are being tested, several of which may become available within the next few years. Last year, the company was a category winner in four areas in the 2023 Pharmaceutical Technical Excellence Awards.
Dunford comments: “This made me very proud. Accord’s success is based on our approach which combines generic and biosimilar production with state-of-the-art research. Our goal at Accord is to provide value to the patient, to the healthcare system and to the company. When we get those three right, it creates a triple win. Ultimately our ambition is: ‘make it better’ — and I believe we do.”
The risks and symptoms of prostate cancer
The number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer is rising. The risk of prostate cancer increases as men get older and because people are now living longer, we are witnessing a spike in diagnoses every year. An increase in opportunistic screening is also contributing to the identification of more cases, often at an earlier stage.
Early stage prostate cancer usually has no symptoms, highlighting the need for general awareness of the disease. Later stage symptoms can include blood in the urine or semen, reduction or loss of semen, back pain, weight loss or erectile dysfunction, although all of these are more often caused by something else.
Symptoms do not necessarily indicate cancer — but need to be checked by a GP in the first instance. Men have a right to a PSA blood test from their GP from age 50, or earlier if they are higher-risk or have any symptoms.
With no national prostate screening programme in the UK, men should proactively seek help
Simon Cheesman, head of medical affairs at Accord Healthcare and a former pharmacist who worked in NHS cancer services for two decades, says: “There may be a reluctance with some men to have health checks, and a willingness to ignore or put up with bothersome symptoms.
“A partner who is aware of the risk factors and what signs and symptoms to look out for may be able to encourage them to get checked out with their GP.
“The importance of seeking help is twofold: to pick up anything sinister at an early stage and, conversely, to provide reassurance and advice on management if there is a more benign cause of their symptoms.”
With no national prostate screening programme in the UK, Cheesman notes, men should proactively seek help if they notice symptoms or if they fall into a higher-risk group based on age, family history or ethnicity. Prostate cancer is more common in Black people and other ethnic minorities. Your risk also rises if you have a first-degree relative with the disease.
Most importantly, Cheesman emphasises the need for support from a partner over treatment options and managing feelings of anxiety or depression that may follow a diagnosis.
For more information please visit accord-healthcare.com
