First in Asia to Develop Liver Cancer Registry Through Collaborations Among National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore Clinical Research Institute and IMS Health

SINGAPORE

National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI) and IMS Health (NYSE:IMS) will collaborate to develop its first Liver Cancer or Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Registry in Asia through the Asian HCC Physician Network.

The non-identified data from this Registry can help policymakers and health care professionals formulate strategies to manage liver cancer patients.

This collaboration is led by Prof. Pierce Chow, Senior Consultant Surgeon at NCCS and Chairman of the Physician Network.

“HCC is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and the burden of this devastating cancer is expected to increase further in coming years. The collection and analysis of epidemiologic HCC data will play a critical role in guiding future disease prevention strategies and optimizing patient management,” said Associate Prof. Teoh Yee Leong, Public Health Physician and CEO of Singapore Clinical Research Institute.

Previous epidemiologic studies have highlighted striking global variations in the incidence of HCC, which is particularly high in much of East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and lower, but on the rise in North America and most of Europe. Although previous studies have contributed considerably to the knowledge of HCC epidemiology, there are limitations associated with the currently available data. This arose from studies performed at different times in the past, using varying methodologies, and with diverse patient populations.

“This information gap prevents estimation of current and future disease burden and impedes efforts to lobby health policymakers to improve public health measures, as given the size of Asia Pacific populations, prevention rather than treatment of non-communicable diseases remains key,” added Prof. Teoh.

NCCS Director Prof. Soo Khee Chee said, “This public-private registry is timely and leverages on the Asia-Pacific HCC network that we have developed over the last two decades. The aim of the registry is aligned with the mission of NCCS and we look forward to better prevention and treatment strategies for HCC in Asia Pacific.”

NCCS Prof. Pierce Chow said a fresh approach to the study of the epidemiology of HCC is required if HCC disease prevention and treatment strategies are to be adequately directed and supported in coming years.

”Real world data on the presentation, clinical trajectory and management of HCC in the Asia-Pacific must be prospectively collected on the ground if we were to improve public health measures and develop effective public health strategies,” explained Prof. Chow.

According to the Vice President IMS Health Asia Pte Ltd., Mr. Amit Backliwal, “Cancer in Asia is fast becoming a huge burden of disease and cost of care is now spiraling. With access to non-identified, longitudinal patient data, IMS will be able to help healthcare stakeholders in more informed decision making and drive better health outcomes overall through proprietary analytics and technology solutions.”

This public-private collaboration will also provide invaluable information to the pharmaceutical industry, governmental and insurance payers and physicians, delivering a complete longitudinal picture of the disease using a combination of retrospective and prospective clinical, associated health costs and patient reported outcomes data. The Registry will help to answer important questions such as different treatment patterns / strategies; health care resource use and costs of treatments; as well as first-hand insights to patients’ perspectives on their treatments.

Using this real world data, government planning agencies and pharmaceutical companies can benefit through bespoke analytics to establish their clinical development and product strategies. Payers will have a good understanding of the disease burden and budget impact to better craft the public health policies. Physicians will be able to use this data to better optimize care pathways enhancing treatment outcomes for HCC patients.

About National Cancer Centre Singapore

National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) provides a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to cancer treatment and patient care. We treat almost 70 per cent of the public sector oncology cases, and they are benefiting from the sub-specialization of our clinical oncologists. NCCS is also accredited by the US-based Joint Commission International for its quality patient care and safety.

To deliver among the best in cancer treatment and care, our clinicians work closely with our scientists who conduct robust cutting-edge clinical and translational research programs which are internationally recognized. NCCS strives to be a global leading cancer centre, and shares its expertise and knowledge by offering training to local and overseas medical professionals. www.nccs.com.sg

About Singapore Clinical Research Institute

Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI) is a National Academic Research Organization dedicated to enhance the standards of human clinical research. Its mission is to spearhead and develop core capabilities, infrastructure and scientific leadership for clinical research in Singapore. SCRI is a national clinical trials coordination centre that works with National Medical Research Council (NMRC) to assist the Ministry of Health in implementing clinical trials policy and strategic initiatives to support and develop clinical research competencies locally.

In driving towards its vision, SCRI collaborates with clinicians to enhance Singapore’s clinical research and strengthen its expertise in executing multi-site, multi-national studies and the development of regional clinical research networks.

SCRI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings. http://www.scri.edu.sg

About IMS Health

IMS Health is a leading global information and technology services company providing clients in the healthcare industry with end-to-end solutions to measure and improve their performance. Our 7,500 services experts connect configurable SaaS applications to 10+ petabytes of complex healthcare data in the IMS One™ cloud platform, delivering unique insights into diseases, treatments, costs and outcomes. The company’s 15,000 employees blend global consistency and local market knowledge across 100 countries to help clients run their operations more efficiently. Customers include pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical device manufacturers and distributors, providers, payers, government agencies, policymakers, researchers and the financial community.

As a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy, IMS Health uses anonymous healthcare data to deliver critical, real-world disease and treatment insights. These insights help biotech and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders to identify unmet treatment needs and understand the effectiveness and value of pharmaceutical products in improving overall health outcomes. Additional information is available at www.imshealth.com.

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