EUCOPE launches the European Coalition for Access to Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (ECGP)

EUCOPE, along with Exact Sciences, Guardant Health, Illumina, MSD and Novartis, launch the European Coalition for Access to Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (ECGP)

The European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE) along with Exact Sciences, Guardant Health, Illumina, MSD and Novartis, launch the European Coalition for Access to Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (ECGP), to improve cancer care through increased routine clinical access and reimbursement of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) in Europe.

CGP is a method of testing tumours that utilises next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect the main classes of genomic alterations and signatures in the full exonic region of genes known to drive cancer growth and identify patient eligibility for clinical trials, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies. Access to comprehensive genomic profiling in Europe is limited, with European cancer patients not having access to potentially life-changing targeted cancer treatments because current funding and reimbursement frameworks do not allow for routine testing for all relevant cancer mutations.

In alignment with flagship initiatives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and recommendations of the EU Mission on Cancer, EUCOPE advocates for sound public policy that supports innovation, while fostering a community built on a shared purpose: improving and saving the lives of European patients through innovative therapies and medical technology, contributing to the vision of the Cancer Mission of improving the lives of more than three million people by 2030. ECGP will involve the key stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, pathologists and industry to identify and share best practices, and develop evidence-based policy recommendations on the clinical and economic utility of CGP for payers and other decision-makers, based on multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary perspectives.

“Our commitment is to lead and engage in partnerships across the entire medicine lifecycle to find actionable solutions that benefit patients, healthcare systems, our members and society overall. ECGP will address an important access gap for European cancer patients and enable the shift of our healthcare systems towards personalised medicine.” – Alexander Natz, Secretary-General, EUCOPE

ADOPTION OF COMPREHENSIVE GENOMIC PROFILING IS LIMITED IN EUROPE

Significant advances have been made in both genomic testing and the development of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for cancer patients over the last decade based on our increased understanding of cancer and the impact of the individual genomic makeup of each patient’s tumour. We now know that a variety of genomic alterations in a broad number of genes can drive cancer growth. CGP can accurately detect these relevant genomic alterations across a large number of genes compared to standard diagnostic tests which are narrow in scope and therefore potentially miss clinically relevant mutations.

We have the ambition to deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time – with widespread adoption of personalised medicine, the potential is enormous to derive significant benefit to patients and to healthcare systems alongside more targeted and efficient use of resources. Today, this rapid technological advancement is not fully adopted in clinical practice due to access for patients to comprehensive genomic profiling remaining limited. While important progress has been made in making genomic tests based on single biomarkers or a limited number of genes available to patients in Europe – access to more comprehensive tests like CGP is much more limited.[1]

In the coming months ECGP will be inviting interested stakeholders to co-create solutions and progress the adoption of CGP with increased access for patients in EU Member States.

For more information about ECGP, visit the coalition’s dedicated page.

 

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CONTACT

If you would like more information or are interested in becoming involved in ECGP, please contact: EUCOPE’s Public Affairs & Policy Manager Matias Olsen

 

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REFERENCES

[1] Normanno et al (2022): “Access and quality of biomarker testing for precision oncology in Europe” European Journal of Cancer. 176:70-77.