This is how advances in research improve the lives of patients

Biomedical research and medicine are fundamental instruments for the health of a society in the broadest sense, including the economic one.

Drugs are currently the main instrument of health systems to care for health. In the last three decades, great advances in this field have made it possible to cure diseases such as hepatitis C, make deadly pathologies such as HIV chronic, and improve the prognosis of patients with multiple sclerosis or other rheumatological diseases. Likewise, in the oncological field, both the quality of life of patients and the survival rate in different types of cancer have improved.

Health is not reduced to one area, that of the patients, but is transversal, affecting both the economy and the well-being of the entire society.. On the occasion of World Health Day, which is celebrated today, Jesús García-Foncillas, director of the Oncohealth Oncology Institute; Diego Vizcaíno, managing partner of Applied Economics at International Financial Analysts; Carina Escobar, president of the Patient Organization Platform (POP), and Pedro Luis Sánchez, director of the Farmaindustria Studies Department, have expressed their experience and points of view in a colloquium organized by EL MUNDO.

The management of pathologies in the 80s and 90s compared to today was very different; now it is taken into account that it not only affects patients, but also their environment. Furthermore, society and therefore the health system, faces a demographic challenge, that of the aging of society, which leads to a greater number of people with multiple pathologies. "Innovation has to go hand in hand with the care model, also betting on the effective participation of patients in research," says the president of the POP.

Survival rate and quality of life

García-Foncillas points out that it is not necessary to go back two decades to observe great changes in the field of health: "In the last five or ten years we have been providing a statistically significant increase in the overall survival of patients, also in very common tumors. such as lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer." The incorporation of immunotherapy in lung cancer, targeted therapies in colon and breast cancer, in addition to new androgens and antitransgenic therapies in the prostate, has multiplied survival by two.

An advance that has also been possible thanks to basic research, which has made it possible to identify the biology behind each of these tumors, thus offering new therapeutic targets to which new drugs can be directed. "A coexistence between research centers and pharmaceutical companies has made it possible to shorten times in the development of medicines belonging to precision oncology, which looks for that specific genetic alteration to deal with," details the oncologist. This has meant a change in the research methodology, which reduces time and allows us to characterize which subgroups are most beneficial, thus impacting survival and quality of life, reducing, thanks to research, the toxicity of treatments.

The challenge of aging society

Analyzing health from a purely economic point of view, there is a direct relationship between the two. "73% of the increase in life expectancy in developed countries is due to the impact of medications on health innovators that had come out in that period," says Pedro Luis Sánchez, from Pharmaindustry. A fact that reveals the contribution of pharmaceutical research and development to life expectancy and quality. "Currently, there are almost 10.000 medications in R&D, however, as there is a failure rate, practically less than 8% will end up being a drug," Sánchez adds.

The increase in the length of working life seems to be one of the realities that accompany the aging of the Spanish population, although it will be necessary to ensure that health is accompanied at these ages in order to continue belonging to the active population, something that is possible with the innovation. Which translates into an investment made by public administrations in universities and companies, bringing with it thousands of jobs.

Even if we ensure that everyone who can work does so, and that working life is extended, it is not enough to guarantee the level of growth of a country and the maintenance of levels of well-being.. That is why it is important to direct business activities and investments towards innovation, since it is decisive for a country like this," he highlights. Diego Vizcaíno, from International Financial Analysts.

Active listening to patients

The entire population is the recipient of scientific and medical innovation. We are all patients at some point in our lives, so it is logical to think that they should have an active role in the evaluation of new drugs and treatments., as well as in the preparation and planning of an essay. "Until now, patients have had a somewhat passive role as recipients, although I believe that we are on the path to addressing more effective participation, making research more transparent," Escobar highlights.

The opinion of both the treating doctors and the patients is critical, since no one like them knows how the disease affects the quality of life on a day-to-day basis. "What we have to look for when designing a research study is to improve and aim for overall survival to increase with the new treatment, keeping in mind the toxicity profiles to make them as tolerant as possible," says García-Foncillas. Something that is possible by giving patients a voice, even in the earliest phases of clinical trials, since their opinion and experience have a direct impact on the quality of life that the future drug can provide.

Patients are essential to define both the clinical needs and the evaluation parameters relevant to them. Being able to better outline the evaluation criteria based on priorities and what they would like to see remedied. "Currently, many of the drug evaluation bodies and regulatory agencies have patients in committees, where they participate, are listened to and sometimes even have the ability to give opinions in the evaluations," underlines the director of the Studies department. from Farmaindustria.

Some of the problems, according to the president of the POP, is the lack of equity between the center and the autonomous communities, which affects the diagnosis, delaying it, thus worsening the diagnosis, which will increase spending and affect health care that the patient will have to receive. "We are clear that our participation generates value and investing in health is investing in the country," Escobar claims.

"According to our estimates, for every euro invested in health research, the economy generates around 1,6 euros of gross added value," reveals Vizcaíno. Furthermore, for every million euros invested in research, around 15,6 jobs are generated in the economy, directly affecting a country's capacity for growth. He points out a study prepared by International Financial Analysts that tries to see what would be the aspects of having an investment plan that would stably raise GDP by around two points. Prevention and investment in new treatments improves the health status of workers, thus influencing their productivity, an aspect that would go hand in hand with lengthening their working life. This contribution estimates that the average GDP growth rate in Spain could increase 0,25 percentage points between now and 2030. "The data reveal that health spending is an investment that allows not only to grow more, but better," highlights Vizcaino.

Times have been shortened in investigation, not in approval 

"We are in a country where R&D is not our strong point, not only in the biomedical field but in general. We are behind Europe in terms of this investment as a percentage of GDP. For example, in 2019, we were at 1,25 when the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was 2,5," Sánchez points out. Data that stands out when compared to investment in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, which is almost 25%. more than 80 plants in Spanish territory that efficiently produce drugs and medicines for human use, worth almost 16.000 million euros. Also exporting around 12.000 million, according to the data managed by Vizcaíno.

A ratio that reveals the advantage that Spain has in this area compared to other economic sectors. "Here are the main global companies in the pharmaceutical field," highlights the director of the Farmaindustria Research Department. He urges to take advantage of this industrial fabric through public-private collaboration, since 50% of these investments are allocated to projects that are carried out in collaboration with hospitals and universities, along with private research centers.

Although not only the slowness of these times has a negative effect on the overall health of patients. According to Escobar, The rising cost of energy, together with the precariousness of some pensions, are reducing the quality of life of the population, which is increasingly reaching an older age with less health. "If we have to work more years or be active for more years, we will have to try to ensure that these people arrive healthier, so that it is feasible to extend their working life," says the president of the POP. The solution to this problem, which is already beginning to be seen in Spain, lies in an increase in investment in research and development, since it has been proven that scientific advances have a direct impact on the health of patients.

Source: The World