Global major pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca has announced the launch of the Helix Project in South Africa, to widen access to advanced diagnostic testing for ovarian cancer for eligible patients, to enable earlier and better-informed decisions regarding treatment. The project brings together AstraZeneca, US-based life sciences research, diagnostics and medical therapeutics development and manufacturing group Thermo Fisher Scientific, and South African private pathology laboratories Ampath, Gritzman & Thatcher, Lancet and Pathcare.

Helix will improve patient access to homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing, which is a form of biomarker testing. Such testing plays an important role in diagnosing ovarian cancer.

“Ovarian cancer is too often diagnosed late, and access to timely diagnostics can play an important role in helping inform treatment decisions,” highlighted AstraZeneca African Cluster medical director Dr Khomotso Mashilane. “This programme is designed to help reduce cost barriers to HRD testing for eligible patients and reflects our broader commitment to improving access to cancer care through partnership and innovation.”

Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women, worldwide. And the number of women who die from it is forecast to significantly increase by the year 2050. In South Africa, it is the third most common gynaecological cancer, after cervical cancer and uterine cancer. Together, gynaecological cancers are the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancers among women, globally, accounting for 15.3% of deaths from cancer in women.

“Molecular diagnosis through the detection of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants can inform therapeutic decision-making in treatment and prevention for affected individuals and their families,” explained AstraZeneca. “This is especially important in a resource-limited setting such as South Africa, where timely and appropriate use of diagnostic tools can help support more informed care decisions.”

HRD testing allows earlier identification of patients who would benefit from biomarker-informed decisions about their treatment. This would allow the more rapid development of treatment pathways and more personalised care.

“Access to comprehensive genomic information is essential to advancing precision oncology, but too many patients still face barriers to the testing that can help inform their care,” pointed out Thermo Fisher Scientific VP medical affairs Luca Quagliata. “Through the Helix Project, we are proud to support expanded access to HRD testing for eligible patients in South Africa by enabling laboratories to assess HRD results alongside a broad range of genomic alterations and biomarkers in a single workflow. By working with AstraZeneca and local laboratory partners, we aim to help more patients benefit from reliable biomarker information that can support informed treatment decisions.”