LONDON, October 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Fostering dialogue on the human and economic cost of cancer, European policy and financing solutions and the importance of innovation across the treatment pathway 

Tweet your questions ahead of the event via @EconomistEvents #EconWaronCancer 

The Economist Event's inaugural War on Cancer 2015 will bring together the leaders in oncology from across the field and around Europe to explore and shape the dialogue on cancer. With a focus on cross-sector collaboration to improve the health and wealth of Europe's nations and people, the programme will take a multi-faceted approach. It will examine leading initiatives in policy and financing, innovation in prevention, treatment and diagnosis and new methods of community engagement. 

The first annual event will be held on Tuesday, October 20th 2015 at The HAC, Armoury House, London, from 8:00am to 5:30pm.

Amber Fennell, Partner at Consilium Strategic Communications, the Official PR Agency of The Economist Events' War on Cancer forum, commented: "The war against cancer is an ongoing battle. Whilst steady progress is being made, it is vital that innovation and the development of potential treatments continues. The Economist Events' War on Cancer will gather global influencers, government ministers, private sector CEOs, academia and healthcare professionals to discuss the leading initiatives in policy and financing, innovation in prevention, treatment and diagnosis and new methods of community engagement in Europe. We are proud to support this event and are looking forward to the forum, the panels and the lively discussions it will provoke."

According to the World Health Organization, 20 per cent of all deaths in Europe are caused by cancer and its 2014 World Cancer Report forecasts a swell in incidental cases to 27 million worldwide by 2030. As populations and life expectancies around the world continue to rise, so too will instances of the disease. Add in a crippling economic cost of over one trillion dollars and the need to reinvigorate the fight against this disease is becoming ever more apparent. But what will a modern cancer initiative look like?

Key speakers at the Summit include: 

• Hans-Georg Eichler, Senior Medical Officer, European Medicines Agency
• Stuart Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer, Bupa
• Francesco De Lorenzo, President, European Cancer Patient Coalition; President, Italian Federation of Volunteer Based Cancer Organisations
• Jane Maher, Joint Chief Medical Officer, Macmillan Cancer Support; NHS Clinical Leader and Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre
• Sean Duffy, National Clinical Director for Cancer, NHS England
• Alojz Peterie MEP, Member of the European Parliament; Co-Chair, Health Working Group; President, MEPs Against Cancer Group
• John Ryan, Acting Director, Health and Food Safety Directorate General, European Commission
• Patrick Soon-Shiong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine; Founder, Nantworks
• Virginia Acha, Executive Director Research, Medical and Innovation, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• Vivek Muthu, Chief Health Advisor, The Economist Intelligence Unit
• Annie Pannelay, Principal, Health Care, The Economist Intelligence Unit
• Peter Clark, Oncologist; Chairman, Cancer Drugs Fund
• Carole Longson, Director, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation; Executive Director, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• Silvia Ondategui-Parra, Partner, MED Healthcare and Life Sciences Leader, Global Market Access Leader, EY
• Cai Grau, Clinical Professor, Department of Oncology, Aarhus University
• Peter Lebowitz, Head of Global Oncology Research and Development, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
• Alain Huriez, Founder and Chairman, The European Personalised Medicine Association (EPEMED)
• Andrew Schiermeier, Senior Vice-President and Head of Global Oncology, Merck Serono
• Alfredo Covelli, Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Region Europe, Novartis Oncology
• Michael Zaiac, Head of Medical Affairs EMEA, Celgene
• Cary Adams, Chief Executive Officer, Union for International Cancer Control
• Kevin Harrington, Joint Head of the Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research
• Christopher Wild, Director, International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organisation

For more information and to view the full programme please visit: http://www.waroncancer.economist.com

Follow the War on Cancer summit via @EconomistEvents #EconWaronCancer on Twitter to get the latest updates, submit your questions, and join in with discussions on the day.

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About The Economist Events 

The Economist Events' philosophy is to tackle issues with a forward-looking, uniquely global perspective. We aim to create events for the intellectually curious: people who enjoy ideas and who are passionate about the issues that define our world.

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Platinum sponsor: EY 

Our Global Life Sciences Sector brings together a worldwide network of more than 7,000 sector-focused assurance, tax, transaction and advisory professionals to anticipate trends, identify implications and develop points of view on how to respond to the critical sector issues.

Platinum sponsor: Elekta 

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer

Platinum sponsor: Merck Serono 

Merck is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials.

Silver Sponsor: Baxalta 

Baxalta Incorporated is a $6 billion global biopharmaceutical leader developing, manufacturing and commercializing therapies for orphan diseases and underserved conditions in hematology, oncology and immunology.

Silver Sponsor: Novartis 

Novartis Oncology is a global leader in providing a broad range of innovative therapies to help improve the lives of cancer patients.

Silver Sponsor: Varian Medical Systems 

Global manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy.

About Consilium Strategic Communications 

Consilium Strategic Communications is a global leader in strategic healthcare communications advisory with offices in London and New York. Consilium's highly-skilled team provides strategic, long-term advice to healthcare companies, Boards, senior decision makers and executives on critical communications programmes and stakeholder challenges. The Company has established deep knowledge across all areas of the global healthcare sector through broad experience in representing international clients spanning the Fortune 500, FTSE 100, FTSEurofirst 300 and FTSE 250, through to discrete specialist reputation management projects.

Press enquiries

For further information on event registration or to request interviews with any of the speakers at War on Cancer 2015 conference, please contact Consilium Strategic Communications, Official Press Office for The Economist Healthcare Events:

Lindsey Neville
Email: waroncancer2015@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44(0)20-3709-5700

For general queries or further information about the event please call +44(0)207-576-8118 or e-mail emeaevents@economist.com

SOURCE Consilium Strategic Communications and The Economist Events