Today, one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. That’s more than 1.9 million people around the world each year who will hear the sobering sentence, “You have cancer.”
Although there have been significant advancements in treatment options over the past decade – with services becoming more targeted and personalized – these innovations pose a number of new challenges. For example, how do we collectively advance treatment options for those who are impacted by cancer? How do we make sure that health equity is achieved? Why is care close to home so crucial to better outcomes?
This is where McKesson, a trusted, experienced and diversified healthcare services organization, can make a difference. It is driven by a commitment to provide products and services that improve accessibility and affordability.
Although best known for the North American pharmaceutical and medical distribution arm of their business, McKesson is so much more. The company’s integrated portfolio of oncology businesses aims to support every aspect of cancer care; from advancing specialty care and first-in-human clinical trials, to improving access to novel therapies and enabling best-in-class oncology care close to home. Cancer is a journey; therefore, the importance of community oncology is crucial to McKesson, whose core mission is to advance health outcomes for all.
“We have a large presence in community oncology,” says Brian Tyler, CEO of McKesson. “We help to support the development and launch of increasingly exciting therapies that are moving us from a place in cancer care where we're not just trying to survive, but actually thinking about curing.”
The company’s collective strengths offer a differentiated value for many biopharma companies and providers, allowing patients to benefit from the next generation of cancer care. McKesson is committed to tackling the inequities in healthcare by first improving access to care, and it’s doing so through the US Oncology Network (“The Network”), the largest network of independent, physician-owned community oncology practices in the U.S. The Network helps to advance local cancer care by equipping oncologists with insights, business support and technologies that enable their practices to provide high-quality care.
In addition to bringing cancer care closer to home, McKesson is also working to overcome the challenges of identifying, enrolling and retaining patients in clinical trials. The Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), a joint venture with McKesson, is a fully integrated oncology research organization that advances cancer care for thousands of cancer patients each year. SCRI not only helps connect patients to clinical trials and novel therapies closer to home, but also contributes to pivotal research that has led to the majority of new cancer therapies approved by the FDA today.
Ontada, McKesson’s oncology data and technology business, is also working to transform the fight against cancer by harnessing the power of provider technology, oncology real-world data, clinical education and research. Their mission is to generate oncology insights at the intersection of technology and data analytics, delivering the evidence that accelerates life science research and providing community providers with a technology suite that supports precise cancer care and improves patient outcomes.
When looking to the future, McKesson predicts that the number of patients living with cancer is going to change. There will be a greater number of survivors, as well as more cures and information that will enable better health outcomes. For many, cancer will become a chronic, rather than deadly disease. Ultimately, McKesson’s continued dedication to the transformation of cancer care delivery will create a lasting impact on millions of people all over the globe.
