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Herald Reporter

Zimbabwe and 22 other African countries have been selected to receive affordable high quality cancer medicines from an alliance recently formed by three pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer, Mylan and Novartis.

Running under the banner of Cancer Access Partnership (CAP), which is also being implemented in conjunction with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) as well as the American Cancer Society, not for profit organisations, Governments and to some extent for-profit hospitals are expected to benefit from the programme.

In a statement released after formation of the alliance on Monday, products expected to be made available for Zimbabwe are anastrozole, bicalutamide, capecitabine, carboplatin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, daunorubicin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, epirubicin, filgrastim, fluorouracil, gemcitabine, letrozole, leucovorin, methotrexate, oxaliplatin, paclitaxel and tamoxifen.

According to the alliance, these medicines have the same quality with those offered in the United States and Europe.

“The companies operate effective supply chains in order to ensure that the medication that reaches patients is safe and potent, with minimal mark-ups from middlemen,” read part of statement.

To access the products, willing purchasers are encouraged to get in touch directly with the companies to get quotations and enter into purchase agreements.

“Products are available for purchasers who provide high quality cancer treatment, such as governments and hospitals, who are committed to passing savings on to patients. It is not necessary to purchase the entire portfolio via CAP — purchasers can choose the products that provide the best value for their own programmes,” read part of the procurement instructions.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and illnesses in Zimbabwe accounting for an average of 7 000 new diagnoses cases and over 1 500 deaths each year.