Manufacturer Tool Helps Define Value of Cancer Treatment

Eli Lilly and Company announced at the 2016 World Cancer Congress in Paris their plans to launch a new edition of a tool that measures cancer progress.

The free tool, the PACE Continuous Innovation Indicators (PACE CII), is an evidence-based, customizable online tool that reviews progress against cancer over time, according to a press release from Eli Lilly. The tool’s purpose is to provide information for discussions about public policy and contribute to innovation against cancer.

The newly-revised tool has become easier to use due to an interactive user interface, and now allows for data comparison across 12 cancer types, including breast, colorectal, endometrial, gastrointestinal stromal, kidney, liver, lung, pancreatic, prostate, melanoma, stomach, and testicular cancers.

PACE CII includes thousands of pieces of evidence curated and coded from published sources, such as clinical trials, observational studies, meta-analyses, and historical references, according to Eli Lilly. The tool gathers this information and provides summary graphs that allows users to access supporting evidence.

“Cancer is a very complex disease and most progress against it has not resulted from major breakthroughs, but rather, from continuous innovation or step-by-step advances over time," said Scott Shortenhaus, Director, US PACE, Policy and Advocacy at Lilly Oncology. “The PACE CII systematically gathers objective data to help us understand how progress against cancer is achieved and is therefore an essential tool to use alongside the new frameworks developed by oncology-related organizations and institutions to define the value of cancer treatments.”

The data provided by the tool provides understanding when and how cancer treatment should be evaluated, according to Eli Lilly. PACE CII will also increase awareness of gaps and unmet needs across multiple cancers, and show how a new treatment adds value to treatment options.

Eli Lilly said that the feedback has been extremely positive thus far, offering a multitude of information to deliver visuals that allow them to see where progress has been made, and where it needs improvement.

The tool was created by PACE (Patient Access to Cancer care Excellence), which is a Lilly Oncology initiative that encourages public policies and healthcare decisions that increase the development of novel treatments, ensure cancer treatments meet the needs of patients, and improve patient access, according to the press release.

PACE involves multiple stakeholders, including patients, advocacy groups, payers, policymakers, healthcare providers, the public, scientists, and politicians.

“This historical perspective and the reality of progress in cancer care are currently missing from the value frameworks,” Shortenhaus said. “Therefore, Lilly's PACE initiative felt it essential to create a user-friendly version of the CII so that as many individuals who influence the course of cancer progress - including researchers, policymakers, health policy experts and patient advocates - are able to use it on demand for a wide variety of analyses.”