Championing health equity: Gilead Sciences’ commitment to oncology

This post has been sponsored by Gilead Sciences as part of their sponsorship of the 2024 Prevent Cancer Gala.

We at Gilead and Kite Oncology were privileged to be an Emerald sponsor of the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s 30th Annual Gala on September 25, where the collective support of attendees and donors raised over $2.1 million for cancer prevention and early detection.

For more than 30 years, Gilead has pursued the impossible, working tirelessly to bring forward medicines for life-threatening illnesses like HIV, viral hepatitis and COVID-19. Now, Gilead and Kite Oncology is building on this legacy to break new ground in cancer treatments by delivering transformative medicines to bring better outcomes to people with cancer.

From anti-body drug conjugates and small molecules to cell therapy-based approaches, Gilead and Kite’s R&D programs and partnerships are creating possibilities for people with overlooked, underserved and difficult to treat cancers. But we recognize that innovation is only beneficial if the patients who would benefit have access.

Our dedication to health equity is at the forefront of our mission, and we proudly stand alongside organizations like the Prevent Cancer Foundation, united in the vision of a world where cancer is preventable, detectable and beatable for all.

Health equity is also a priority in our giving: This year we announced the launch of a grant program to provide patients and caregivers impacted by metastatic breast cancer with support throughout their care journey, with grantees to be announced at the end of October. Last year, Gilead awarded grant funding to 24 U.S.-based community organizations. This funding supports evidence-based interventions to address barriers to care and social determinants of health.

Gilead also believes that legislative policy can be a powerful lever for sustainable change to advance health equity, enabling solutions that address the systemic inequities patients face accessing the care they need. We are committed to developing patient-centered solutions and working in concert with the patient and care provider community to advance policy solutions aimed at improving prevention, early detection, access and survival for all populations.

We are also excited to see recent congressional and regulatory actions to address health inequities through policy change. Notably, we applaud Congress for the reintroduction of the SCREENS (Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services) for Cancer Act, which reauthorizes the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), a lifesaving program that provides breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services for women who are low-income, uninsured and underinsured and who do not qualify for Medicaid. We applaud Congress for including funding for breast cancer screening and diagnostic services to uninsured and underinsured women in its annual appropriations bills, and we ask that they continue to support programs that reach high-risk patient populations.

We also commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the creation of new ICD-10 codes that differentiate unique breast cancer diagnoses, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and the creation of reimbursable patient navigation codes to better connect patients with appropriate navigation services. Gilead believes that these efforts to improve early detection and timely access to treatment, inform policy change through better, more accurate data, and support sustainable and scalable patient navigation programs and services will help address health inequities in our health care system and are important steps forward to improving access for all patients.

Cancer presents unique challenges, but through relentless scientific innovation and transformational community partnerships, we are hopeful that together, we can make strides against cancer. We are confident in our pursuit of delivering innovative therapies that offer new hope for patients and making the world a healthier place for all people.

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