Childhood cancer is an emerging public health concern in many low-resource settings like sub-Saharan Africa, where delayed diagnosis and limited access to healthcare significantly impacts patient survival outcomes. Public awareness about childhood cancer, hospital navigation, and the proper use of medications plays a critical role in early childhood cancer detection, treatment, and survivorship. Read More
Building a cancer center around patients in Nigeria
The NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center (NLCC) in Lagos, Nigeria was meant to bring big changes for Nigerians, but it wasn’t delivering on its potential, apparently because the international organization running it did not understand the local situation. Read More
Rwanda fights cervical cancer with information
“There are many challenges about misinformation out there,” says Uwimana Pelagia, Community Health Officer at the Ruhuha Health Center in Rwanda. For instance, she says she was “surprised to know” that cervical cancer is preventable. Read More
Cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a Lancet Oncology Commission
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urgent action is needed to curb a growing crisis in cancer incidence and mortality. Without rapid interventions, data estimates show a major increase in cancer mortality from 520 348 in 2020 to about 1 million deaths per year by 2030. Read More
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide, with highest mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. One third of the 416,000 projected deaths in the region over the next decade can be prevented with improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Accordingly, the WHO launched the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, calling on the international community to improve cancer care. Read More
Innovative Approaches to Cancer Training in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an unprecedented growth in cancer burden commensurate with the economic growth the continent has experienced over the past several decades. This African cancer crisis is particularly acute in Nigeria, the most populous country in the region, where the number of cancer patients is set to double by 2040to more than 225,000 new cases per year. Read More
BVGH AC³T is changing lives, one clinical trial at a time
“Unfortunately, people of African descent are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials, meaning that products and regimens approved based on data from people of other ethnicities may be suboptimal for them,” explains Jennifer Dent, President & CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH). Read More
Article: “In Africa, cancer kills more people than malaria. Here’s what biotech’s doing about it.”
In Africa, cancer is deadlier than malaria. In 2015, malaria killed 394,000 Africans, while cancer killed at least 635,400—60% more. “…Should current trends continue, Africa’s cancer burden is projected to reach an alarming 1.4 million new cases and 1 million deaths by 2030,” says a 2017 report led by BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH). Read More
The majority of cancer research is conducted in high-income countries. Less than 2% of cancer studies listed at ClinicalTrials.gov were conducted on the African continent with the majority performed in only two countries, South Africa and Egypt. Consequently, much less is known about the clinical challenges of diagnosing and treating cancer in sub-Saharan Africa compared with many other regions around the world. Read More
Article: “Could Africa become a clinical trial powerhouse?”
“…To date, the African continent has not been known as a hotbed of clinical research. Despite playing host to 17.5% of the global population, the continent is dramatically underrepresented in clinical trials – only 2.5% of clinical trials take place here, according to one estimate.” BVGH’s programs – the African Access Initiative (AAI) and African Consortium for Clinical Trials (AC3T) – are changing that. Read More
2020 Skoll World Forum: Improving Access to Chemotherapy Treatment in Northern Nigeria
BVGH’s presentation at the 2020 Skoll (virtual) World Forum. Watch Here
Report: BVGH Post-AORTIC 2019 Report
AAI partners and global health change-makers engaged in workshops focused on expanding the AAI cancer drug access program across six African countries and operationalizing AC³T. Read More
Disrupting the Emerging Cancer Crisis in Africa: Part 2
Since the end of its second civil war in 2011, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced increasing economic growth and stability. Despite this period of peace and prosperity, a new threat looms over the country. At Côte d’Ivoire’s three main teaching hospitals, University Hospital Center (CHU) Cocody, CHU Treichville, and CHU Yopougon, doctors are reporting an alarming increase in the rates of cancer. Read More
Disrupting the Emerging Cancer Crisis in Africa: Part 1
In 2015, Africa experienced a dramatic shift in health trends. That year for the first time, more Africans are estimated to have died from cancer than malaria. Thanks in part to concerted global efforts, the malaria death rate in Africa decreased more than half between 2003 (the year malaria death rates peaked on the continent) and 2017. Read More
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and alarmingly, both cancer incidence and mortality are on the rise in Africa. By 2040, the number of deaths in Africa due to cancer is predicted to double. Read More
The latest advances from BioVentures for Global Health in Africa
Jennifer Dent speaks to ecancer at the Global Health Catalyst Summit 2019 at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts about the progress of BioVentures for Global Health since her last interview at AACR in April. Watch Here
African Access Initiative: Improving patient outcomes in Africa
Jennifer Dent speaks to ecancer at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting about the work BIO Ventures for Global Health are carrying out in Africa. Watch Here
Article: “Shifting Africa’s Cancer Narrative from Despair to Hope”
The Biden Cancer Initiative’s blog — Pulse on Progress — featured an article on how BVGH’s African Access Initiative is working to reverse cancer morality patterns on the African continent. Read More
According to a recent report issued by the American Cancer Society, cancer deaths in the United States have dropped 27 percent since 1991. This is an important milestone attributable, in large part, to lower smoking rates, advances in early detection of cancers, and the development of innovative treatments. Read More
Death rates from cancer are falling and access to potentially lifesaving treatments is increasing — except among Africans and Americans of African descent. This gap must be closed. Read More
BVGH’s African Access Initiative Featured at Biden Cancer Summit
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) was featured at last week’s Biden Cancer Summit, hosted by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, for its commitment to addressing Africa’s long under-recognized cancer epidemic through its African Access Initiative (AAI). Read More
Biden Cancer Summit: Afternoon Session
Jennifer Dent speaks at the Biden Cancer Summit, Washington, D.C. September 21, 2018. Watch Here
At this year’s BIO International Convention, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the African Access Initiative (AAI). Launched at the 2017 BIO International Convention, AAI made tremendous progress in its first year. Read More
Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health to Launch Pilot Cancer Drug Access Program with BVGH
The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria (Federal Ministry of Health) and BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) convened a Cancer Stakeholder meeting under the auspices of BVGH’s African Access Initiative (AAI) to finalize plans for a pilot cancer drug access program to combat Nigeria’s rapidly rising cancer burden. The Federal Ministry of Health issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to pharmaceutical companies to kick-start the program. Read More
BVGH Calls for More Collaboration between Industry and Governments to Increase Access to Medicines
UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines solicits recommendations from BVGH. Read More
Africa’s Emerging Cancer Crisis: A Call to Action
Today, 60% more Africans die from cancer than succumb to malaria—and the number of cancer deaths is rising at an alarming rate. In 2030, the number of deaths from cancer will have increased almost 70% based on age demographics alone. Read More
BIO Ventures for Global Health Expands Its Board to Strengthen Its Nonprofit Global Health Expertise
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), a nonprofit global health organization, announced today that Dr. Stefan Kaufmann, Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology; and Dr. Groesbeck Parham, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Honorary Professor at the University of Zambia, global health experts, have joined its Board of Directors. Read More
BVGH’s African Access Initiative Expands to Rwanda
The Government of Rwanda has joined the African Access Initiative (AAI), an international public-private alliance addressing Africa’s escalating cancer crisis, the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Seattle-based BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) announced today. Read More
International Drug Companies Join BIO Ventures for Global Health to Tackle Cancer Crisis in Africa
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), is launching the African Access Initiative (AAI) at 10:30 am today at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention at the San Diego Convention Center, Room 28AB, to address Africa’s emerging cancer crisis. Led by BVGH in partnership with Pfizer, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), AAI will expand access to oncology medicines and improve cancer care in Africa. Cancer kills 60% more people in Africa than malaria, and the number of cancer deaths is expected to increase almost 70% by 2030. Read More
Breast Cancer More Aggressive, Deadlier in African Women Than Caucasian Women
The high burden of breast cancer in women of African heritage, an issue long under-recognized by the medical community, governments, and drug companies, will be highlighted at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention at the San Diego Convention Center on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Renowned breast cancer expert Dr. Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade, Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago , will speak on the dramatic differences in disease biology and outcomes in African vs. Caucasian women during panel sessions at 10:30 am in Room 28AB and 3:00 pm in Room 27AB. Read More
Cancer Crisis in Africa Prompts BVGH’s New African Access Initiative
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), which enlists the capabilities of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to tackle critical global health needs, today announced it will expand its programs to address the emerging cancer crisis in Africa. The African Access Initiative (AAI) will provide affordable, sustainable access to cancer therapeutics, enhance healthcare capacity, and foster cancer research in Africa. Read More
2017 Post BIO Convention Report and AAI Launch
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) coordinated the third Africa Pavilion at the 2017 BIO International Convention to showcase African life sciences capabilities and foster collaborations at the world’s largest partnering event. Read More
BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood to Chair BIO Ventures for Global Health Board of Directors
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) today announced that Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has been elected as the new BVGH Board Chair for a term of three years. BIO is the world’s largest biotech industry organization, representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. Read More
BVGH to Host Expanded Africa Pavilion at BIO International Convention in San Francisco
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) will welcome representatives from 16 African countries to the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) annual convention this year in San Francisco. Based on the success of BVGH’s multi-African country pavilion at the BIO Convention in 2015, which hosted five African countries, BVGH will triple the countries represented this year and expand Africa programming. Read More