ASCP co-founds global health initiative to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment of cancer
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), along with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and multiple partners* are establishing the Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM) Coalition, a new global partnership to increase access to quality-assured essential cancer medicines in low- and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs) and to help countries develop the capacity for their proper use.
It is estimated that less than 50% of the cancer medicines on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (WHO EML) are currently available in LLMICs. In 2020, more than 3.5 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in LLMICs and an estimated 2.3 million premature deaths were caused by cancer. If left unchecked, deaths from cancer in LLMICs are expected to rise to 4 million by 2040.
“ASCP is pleased to co-found this initiative with our collaborative cancer partners globally, as we work together to expand access to high-quality cancer treatment to people in low- and lower middle-income countries,” says E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)
CM, CEO of the American Society for Clinical Pathology. “The patient is at the center of all that we do as pathologists and medical laboratory professionals. Through this initiative, cancer patients will benefit from access to the best treatments for their specific cancer without fiscal or geographic barriers.”
Professor Anil D’Cruz, President of the UICC and Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in India, adds, “Simply making affordable cancer medicines available does not guarantee that people living with cancer will receive the medicines they need at the right time. This new partnership is set up to ensure that low- and lower-middle income countries get the support they need to receive the essential cancer medicines where they are currently lacking, as well as the training on their use so that their availability becomes sustainable long term and addresses the specific needs of each country with respect to its cancer burden.”
Today, there are many access initiatives in operation that seek to improve the delivery of essential cancer medicines to people who need them in LLMICs. The ATOM Coalition brings these excellent initiatives together to generate synergies, exchange best practices and streamline efforts between in-country and global partners.
The ATOM Coalition will build on the UICC’s network of member organizations in selected countries, as well as on the range of global and country-level public and private sector partners with expertise in implementing cancer-focused access programs. This will amplify the effectiveness of ATOM Coalition partners and enable countries to increase access to diagnostics and essential cancer medicines.
The ATOM Coalition partners seek to build a sustainable operating model that facilitates access over time, as breakthroughs occur, to new medicines that can have a significant health impact in LLMICs, while ensuring that today’s effective medicines are more widely available across those countries in a sustainable manner.
In particular, ATOM Coalition partners will work together to:
• Work with governments in LLMICs to assess their country’s ability to receive and use cancer medicines, agreeing and then addressing the gaps they have in making more medicines available to cancer patients;
• Support governments in LLMICs to develop sustainable health financing, which covers adequate staffing and medicines for cancer treatment;
• Support the development of sustainable diagnostic and pathology capacity;
• Implement training and education programs for healthcare workers and supportive care staff on evidence-based treatment guidelines, protocols and management of adverse reactions;
• Provide support in streamlining regulatory processes, procurement, forecasting and supply chain management;
• Support generic and biosimilar manufacturers to develop, register and supply quality-assured essential cancer medicines at affordable prices in ATOM focus countries;
• Provide the necessary means to make available new medicines of significant public health importance for LLMICs through voluntary licensing and other channels.
The ATOM Coalition was formally launched on May 22, 2022 at a UICC side event of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The ATOM Coalition will be structured as an informal alliance comprised of all ATOM partners and key representatives from target countries and led by a governing council. UICC will serve as Secretariat of the ATOM Coalition and coordinate ATOM partners in their shared ambition to work collectively in target ATOM countries. The ATOM Coalition will also include regional and national organizations within its governance structure, ensuring that it properly represents the needs of cancer patients in LLMICs.
In the first phase of operations, the ATOM Coalition will support the implementation of intensive coordinated capacity building activities in up to 10 countries, expanding to other LLMICs over time, and will focus on increasing access to medicines in over half of countries currently classified as LLMICs.
For more information on the ATOM Coalition, including a full list of partners, please visit
“The Access to Oncology (ATOM) Coalition” webpage.
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ATOM Coalition partners
The ATOM Coalition is bringing together a unique and powerful group of organizations and companies from different sectors to address the challenge of access to cancer medicines in LLMICs. Together, these organizations currently operate in more than 100 countries and collectively have decades of experience helping improve cancer treatment and care in low- and middle-income countries.
The current partners committed to the ATOM Coalition include (as of May 18, 2022):
African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), AstraZeneca, BeiGene, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BGVH), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Direct Relief, Health Financing Institute, Gilead Sciences, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (IGBA), McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), Novartis, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), Roche, Sanofi, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Global Oncology, Teva, The Defeat-NCD Partnership, The Max Foundation (Max) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
The Access to Medicine Foundation and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) will be observers in the governance structure and collaborate with the ATOM Coalition to support its ambition to increase the availability of cancer medicines in LLMICs.
