The first Roundtable between Swissmedic and leading professional Swiss hemato-oncology associations as well as guests from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took place on 18 November 2024 in Bern. It focused on the question of how to speed up patient access to innovative cancer treatments in Switzerland.
Quicker access to innovative cancer treatments: Swissmedic, the FDA and Swiss professional associations in dialogue
28.11.2024
At the first Roundtable Hemato-Oncology, Swissmedic, a delegation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and experts from Swiss hemato-oncology associations met in Bern. The discussions focused on the challenges in the authorisation of new treatments, speeding up innovative treatment options and the influence of international cooperation on the availability of medicines in Switzerland.
They illustrated the importance of international cooperation: through initiatives such as Project Orbis (see infobox), innovative medicinal products can be authorised for patients in Switzerland an average of seven months earlier.
The Roundtable also offered an opportunity to highlight the different regulatory frameworks and perspectives of the two countries. Challenges and solutions for rapid authorisation of innovative cancer medications in Switzerland were discussed. This requires targeted, efficient cooperation to achieve common objectives and ensure patient safety and supply. The importance of this Roundtable for faster access to innovative cancer treatments for patients in Switzerland was illustrated once again.
Participants at the Roundtable on 18 November 2024
Name |
Company/Organisation/Association |
|---|---|
Richard Pazdur |
U.S. FDA |
Angelo de Claro |
U.S. FDA |
Dianne Spillman |
U.S. FDA |
Shannon Thor |
U.S. FDA |
Simona (Ioana) Ulea |
U.S. FDA |
Roger von Moos |
Swiss Society of Medical Oncology (SGMO) |
Dominique Froidevaux |
Swiss Society of Medical Oncology (SGMO) |
Anne Angelillo-Scherrer |
Swiss Society of Hematology (SGH) |
Katrin Scheinemann |
Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG) |
Claudia Althaus |
Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group (SPOG) |
| Vincent Gruntz | Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) |
Miklos Pless |
Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) |
Sacha Rothschild |
Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) |
Jakob Passweg |
Swiss Cancer Research (Krebsforschung CH) |
Thomas Cerny |
Swiss Cancer Research (Krebsforschung CH) |
Solange Peters |
Krebsliga |
Aline Descloux |
Krebsliga |
Eveline Trachsel |
Swissmedic |
Jörg Schläpfer |
Swissmedic |
Christine Haenggeli |
Swissmedic |
Julia Djonova |
Swissmedic |
Ulrich-Peter Rohr |
Swissmedic |
Matea Zosso |
Swissmedic |
Gabriela Zenhäusern |
Swissmedic |
Eiman Atiek |
Swissmedic |
Mari Vihertola |
Swissmedic |
Project Orbis: Quicker access to innovative cancer treatments
In September 2019, the US FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) initiated Project Orbis to speed up the global authorisation process for cancer treatments. Pharmaceutical companies can submit their applications for authorisation in parallel to the FDA and other international regulatory authorities. This also enables Swiss cancer patients to benefit from quicker access to innovative treatments.
Swissmedic first participated in the project in 2020 and, following a positive evaluation, has continued its participation on a permanent basis to support its strategic objectives.