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On August 31, 2017, UACT sent a letter to Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regarding the emerging chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) technologies that are currently being developed across a number of pharmaceutical companies and institutions.  On August 30, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the first approval of a CAR T treatment, a leukemia treatment by Novartis for children and young adults. Novartis announced it would charge $475,000 for the treatment. In the UACT letter to Dr. Collins, we ask the NIH to communicate more information to public regarding the NIH role in developing, patentingRead More →

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Each year, the Graduate Institute Geneva compiles the list of “300 Women Leaders in Global Health.” The list was created to “showcase female leadership in global health,” and nominations are gathered from peers to recognize women’s contributions to global health policies and initiatives. UACT is pleased to highlight the women included on the list who are involved with guiding UACT’s mission and work. Five of the incredible women included in the “300 Women Leaders in Global Health” are members of UACT’s leadership, including two members of the Board of Directors, two members of the Expert Advisory Board, as well as our Acting Director. Nominees from our BoardRead More →

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The Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment is asking Sherry Lansing, the former Paramount CEO and current member of the Board of Regents of the University of California, to stop the Regents’ efforts to obtain a patent on the prostate cancer drug enzalutamide (brand name Xtandi) in India. On May 24th, 2017, UACT was joined by 56 civil society organizations and academic experts in sending a letter to Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California system, and the Board of Regents of the University of California, requesting that they withdraw their efforts to obtain a patent on enzalutamide in India. Neither Napolitano’s office nor theRead More →

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By Julie Chmelikova There are currently 28 EU member states, yet their health care systems vary substantially and are based on national policies. Reimbursement models, health care expenditures, availability of resources and accessibility of drugs are just some of the aspects of health care where major differences occur. Access to cancer drugs is an especially pressing issue that demonstrates vividly the differences in access to health care across the EU. The inequality is evident for example in the case of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, where patients do not have access to many innovative cancer drugs, such as Kadcyla (breast cancer), Jevtana (prostate cancer), Dacogen (acuteRead More →

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On June 16, 2017, UACT delivered a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee regarding the soon-to-be introduced comprehensive health care bill.  In the letter to Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray, UACT urged the HELP committee to hold public hearings on how the GOP-led health care reform bill will affect cancer patients. As highlighted by Sen. Murray in a HELP Committee hearing on prescription drug prices held on Tuesday June 13, 2017, the bill (which is currently being negotiated in secret) at this point is slated to be introduced and voted on withoutRead More →