HUS study aims to improve access to new cancer medicines for Finnish patients

The Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) is coordinating a new national cancer medicines study, FINACCESS, which aims to improve patients access to new cancer medicines while generating valuable data on the efficacy and safety of treatments, said a press release on Thursday. The cancer medicines included in the FINACCESS study are in late-phase clinical development or already approved. This means that their efficacy and safety have already been extensively studied, but they have not yet received marketing authorization or reimbursement status in Europe. FINACCESS combines patients treatment needs with real-time scientific data collection. Studies of this kind can generate important evidence to support future treatment decisions and promote the controlled introduction of new medicines. “The aim of the study is to ensure that patients can access new treatments as early as possible while we collect data on the efficacy of these treatments through real-world clinical practice,” said Head Physician of HUS Comprehensive Cancer Centers Clinical Pharmaceutical Research Unit Katriina Jalkanen. Every medicine included in the FINACCESS study forms its own cohort, meaning a group of study patients, whose treatment outcomes are evaluated separately. The multi-year research program is expected to expand in the coming years to include new drug therapies for multiple different cancers. The first study treatment is intended for patients with non-small cell lung cancer with HER2 mutation. “FINACCESS complements the ongoing national research program for individual cancer therapies particularly well. It enables the collection of essential evidence particularly in situations where randomized studies do not include rarer patient groups, for example” said Mika Mustonen, director of the Southern Finland Cancer Center (FICAN South). “This type of study design benefits patients, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies alike. Companies provide the new study medicine free of charge for hospital use, patients gain timely access to the latest cancer treatments, and companies obtain valuable data on the efficacy of the medicine,” said Johanna Mattson, Senior Medical Director HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center.