The Economist Events' Annual War on Cancer Europe Summit 2019 - Celebrating Success, Accelerating Progress

LONDON, Nov. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Held in London at The Waldorf Hilton on November 26th 2019 – the War on Cancer Europe Summit gathered more than 170 policymakers, health-care providers, insurers, investors, scientists, technologists and patients to discuss the successes—even if at present these are small-scale—in areas of policy, regulation, investment, partnerships, systems and technology which have led to better outcomes for patients.

Setting the scene, on the reasons to be cheerful (but not complacent), Michelle Mitchell OBE, chief executive at Cancer Research UK highlighted:

''Collaboration is crucial to accelerate progress against our mission to ensure the best outcomes for people with cancer." Talking about teamwork and how all groups must come together to accelerate progress she said, "let's focus on the ingredients we must have to make this more of a success."

Discussing cancer control as a societal and economic investment, Mary Gospodarowicz, medical director at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre mentioned, "We now have evidence to show that investing in healthcare produces benefits for the economy. Investment in cancer needs to be comprehensive, otherwise you will not see the benefits if you only invest in drugs or only invest in surgery."

Rachel Nugent, vice-president global noncommunicable diseases at RTI International added, "There are some things to be optimistic about. We have been able to demonstrate quite good returns on investment. Investment in vaccinations, tobacco control, screening and early stage treatment for cervical, breast and children's cancer has been effective."

On the keynote interview, HRH Princess Dina Mired shared her experience and perspective on how governments, NGOs, public and private sector should coordinate their efforts to create unified strategies to tackle cancer. She also outlined the great progress being made through the city cancer challenge initiative.

Veronica Foote, head of patient relations and communications at Novartis said, ''Digitalisation of healthcare is the great hope for us. The technology and systems are there, but the regulatory frameworks need to be in place too."

This annual event has been specifically designed to facilitate cross-stakeholder dialogue about providing unified cancer treatment and care.

Featured speakers included:  

• HRH Princess Dina Mired, president, Union for International Cancer Control
• Tanel Kiik, Minister of social affairs, Estonia
• Henny Braund, chief executive, Anthony Nolan
• Michelle Mitchell OBE, chief executive, Cancer Research UK
• Franco Cavalli, chairman of the scientific committee, European School of Oncology
• Jerome Coffey, national director, national cancer control programme, National Health Executive (Ireland)
• Charmaine Gauci, superintendent of public health, department for health regulation, Malta
• Mary Gospodarowicz, medical director, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Ann-Louise Ward, chief operating officer, Maggie's Centres
• Veronica Foote, head of patient relations and communications, Novartis Oncology Region Europe
• Tim Jaeger, global head of diagnostics information solutions (DIS), Roche
• Dr Evangelos Pappas, founder and chief scientific officer, RTsafe
• Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, M.D., executive vice president and director of St. Jude Global, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

View the agenda here.

Tweet via @EconomistEvents #WarOnCancer

The Economist is delighted to be participating in the inaugural London Global Cancer Week from November 24-28. We're collaborating with the Royal Society of Medicine, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, The Commonwealth Secretariat and the Royal College of Radiologists to host a coordinated series of international discussions and events. London Global Cancer Week will provide a 360° picture of the impact of the rising incidence of cancer in these emerging countries. For more information, visit: www.lgcw.org.uk

Sponsors

Supporters of The Economist Events' War on Cancer Europe Summit include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as diamond sponsor, Novartis as platinum sponsor, Roche and Takeda Oncology as silver sponsors, Elekta as host sponsor, Cancer Research UK as supporting sponsor and RTsafe as Exhibitor sponsor.

About The Economist Events

The Economist Events' philosophy is to tackle issues with a forward-looking, uniquely global perspective. We aim to create events for the intellectually curious: people who enjoy ideas and who are passionate about the issues that define our world. Attend our events: events.economist.com

About Consilium Strategic Communications

Consilium Strategic Communications is an established global leader in strategic healthcare communications and investor relations advisory with operations in London, mainland Europe and the US. Consilium's specialist team represents a broad range of companies spanning the global healthcare sector and provides strategic, long-term PR and IR advice to companies, funds and charities. Operating with Boards, senior decision makers and executives, we work in partnership with our clients to translate complex healthcare situations into meaningful communications programmes that deliver sustained results, inspire action and build value. For more information, please visit www.consilium-comms.com.

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SOURCE The Economist Events