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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
The WHO just made a historic move to get better cancer medicines to kids worldwide. For the first time ever, the WHO has invited manufacturers to submit childhood cancer medicines for its Prequalification Programme — targeting 12 essential drugs that are either hard to access or lack child-friendly formulations. The goal: narrow the massive survival gap between high- and low-income countries.
The WHO has issued its first-ever invitation for expression of interest (EOI) to manufacturers of childhood cancer medicines, asking them to submit products for evaluation under its Prequalification Programme. The move is aimed at expanding access to quality-assured, age-appropriate medicines — particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the vast majority of pediatric cancer cases occur but survival rates remain devastatingly low.
The 12 medicines targeted include six that lack child-friendly formulations (cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mercaptopurine, methotrexate, procarbazine, and temozolomide) and six facing critical supply gaps (pegaspargase, asparaginase, hydrocortisone, dactinomycin, vincristine, and cytarabine). The initiative is a collaboration between WHO, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, UNICEF, and the PAHO Strategic Fund.
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Why it matters: This EOI creates a concrete regulatory pathway that can incentivize manufacturers to develop and supply the medicines children in underserved regions desperately need — a critical step toward closing one of global health's most glaring equity gaps.
