Research is key to increasing survival rates for cancer and other chronic diseases

Commitment of pharmaceutical companies Research is the key to turning science into facts and thereby help improve the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Investments in R&D are necessary to address current and future health problems and thus ensure the prevention and treatment of diseases.

He Dr. Joaquin MateosMedical Director of MSD Spain and Portugal, explains “Health Guides” that we currently “have the industry’s largest clinical research program in immuno-oncology, with more than 1,600 clinical trials.”

Moreover, “at MSD we are exploring other avenues of oncology research besides immuno-oncology, such as various protein inhibitors or personalized therapy using neoantigens, which represents a promising path, with the goal of further progress in finding and providing innovative solutions for the treatment of cancer patients.

Dr. Mateos emphasizes that “we are working on earlier and earlier stages of cancer because we not only want to improve and prolong the life of patients” He emphasizes that such research efforts are possible through collaboration with other pharmaceutical companies. “Knowledge sharing is another fundamental tool for developing more effective medicines.”

What are the areas of MSD research?

At MSD, they are at the forefront of research and development of new disease prevention methods. “Our goal is to provide medicines and vaccines to people around the world, and this is possible thanks to our world-class researchers, cutting-edge technology and our commitment to scientific excellence,” says Dr.

Moreover, research is carried out not only in the field of oncology, but also cardiometabolic diseases and contagious as HIV, Ebola or dengue. In fact, “we are getting closer to having a vaccine against dengue, a disease whose spectrum of action is increasingly expanding.”

• “We are working on cures for HIV infection and treatments to find effective treatments for various diseases affecting the central nervous system, such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease“

During a phone interview, Mateos emphasizes that they have a “powerful” sales pipeline. The clinical development program is in an advanced stage, with 80 programs in Phase 2, 30 in Phase 3, and 10 under review.

Pembrolizumab is the first immunotherapy against triple-negative breast cancer

This monoclonal antibody humanized, which attaches to the programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1). Its function is to enhance the immune system’s ability to identify and attack tumor cells.

The latest milestone in Spain was the National Health System’s approval of funding for nine new indications for pembrolizumab in December last year. It is currently the cancer immunotherapy treatment with the largest number of indications funded by the NHS (17 in total). This is a new indication funded in December 2023.

“This is all the result of the research work we are doing to expand both the types of cancer for which this therapy can be an alternative, and the stages of disease at which it can be used. MSD is studying pembrolizumab in early disease in approximately 20 ongoing registration studies, for several types of cancer. This demonstrates our commitment to providing patients with more alternatives,” explains Joaquín Mateos.

It is expected to be able to expand its use “to certain types of cervical and endometrial cancer, to patients suffering from metastatic bladder cancer, and in the future we hope that there will continue to be additional indications in which the treatment may continue to provide benefit.” ”

Financing National health system This is key for the company. “The goal of the drugs we develop is to improve people’s health, but also reach patients so they can access these innovations. “It is very important that we have regulatory approval as well as funding approval.”