Blog
A Post-Pandemic ASCO
Kyle Bryan, Chief Medical Officer, IQVIA Biotech
Jeffrey Keefer, Vice President and Head Hematology/Oncology Center of Excellence, Therapeutic Science and Strategy Unit, IQVIA
Jun 02, 2022

As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the continued increase in vaccination numbers brings with it the return of in-person conferences that we have all missed. One of these is the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which we both have been looking forward to for some time now. ASCO has long been the primary forum where oncology professionals from around the world meet to discuss the latest successes, updates to important work, and lessons learned in clinical cancer research. Not only do we get to hear about these topics with tens of thousands of global participants, we get to dive more deeply into the scientific presentations and educational sessions with conversations and networking opportunities that offer more perspective and information than we may glean from the papers and news articles we read throughout the year.

This year’s conference theme is Advancing Equitable Cancer Care Through Innovation. “By innovating across boundaries,” writes ASCO, “we can bring down barriers to access and make care more equitable, convenient and efficient for patients worldwide.

"We're particularly excited about this theme, because it encompasses so many different concepts that we’ve been focusing on at IQVIA, including diversity and inclusion, accessibility and patient-centricity of studies. More directly than ever, IQVIA is looking past the question of “How do we advance the science of caring for oncology patients?” and asking, “How do we bring this advanced care to more patients in need?”

Advancing equitable cancer care through innovation

Discerning the needs of patients is a long and arduous process that must start with asking the right questions, such as, how do we best engage patients in the clinical research process to benefit both the science and the subjects? At IQVIA, we’ve been comparing our understanding of the clinical trial process to develop a scientifically sound study with what it means for a patient to participate in a clinical trial.

We, as a company and an industry, have an tremendous opportunity. For example, we can use the technology and data at our disposal to better explore solutions to address both the benefits and the burdens we are presenting to a person entering a clinical trial. Once we understand these aspects better, we can use that same tech and data to make trials more accessible, attractive, and convenient for patients, while also being less burdensome.

IQVIA is using its unique footprint and capabilities to explore how developing more clinical trial centers in sub-Saharan Africa can increase access and advance the standard of care for the people in the region. These findings will be relevant for other parts of the world, including the U.S., where people may live far from a research center or live in an area with extremely limited broadband or cellular coverage but may benefit from participation in a clinical trial.

Further, we also hope to discuss and learn more about how we can use our learnings from the pandemic to address deficiencies across cancer care. There were many positive advancements from the work done to create COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, including the speed at which they were created, tested and brought to people around the globe.

We should, and must, take an in-depth look into what worked in the face of the pandemic and how we can apply it to the future.

Help people where they are

It’s an understatement to say we’re excited to be back in person at ASCO taking part in and learning from the exchange of creative, innovative ideas that happens at this conference. We hope these few days together will offer us time to focus on hearing the latest in research developments and use learnings of the past few years to address disparities in oncology care, bringing clinical research and life-saving healthcare to people around the world.

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