Ovarian cancer remains absent from many national cancer plans despite its high mortality rate. What specific policy changes would AbbVie like to see at the Hungarian and European levels to give the disease greater priority?
Javier Aracil: Ovarian cancer deserves greater visibility in cancer policy given its high mortality, the challenges of early diagnosis and the significant unmet needs that remain across the patient pathway. At both European and national levels, we should continue to strengthen cancer strategies from awareness and diagnosis through to treatment and outcomes, with a particular focus on ensuring that patients can access the right care at the right time.
In Hungary, continued collaboration across the healthcare community can help strengthen recognition of the burden and urgency of ovarian cancer and support further progress towards timely, predictable and appropriate access to innovative treatment options for patients. While awareness of breast cancer has increased significantly, ovarian cancer remains less visible, including awareness of its symptoms and the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment. This should be reflected more strongly in national cancer and women’s health strategies.
Working together to further strengthen transparent, evidence-based and sustainable reimbursement and access frameworks can help ensure that eligible patients can benefit from innovative treatments in a timely and appropriate manner. For patients with cancer, waiting months for access to an appropriate treatment can have significant consequences. At the same time, access to treatment should support individualized care, with treatment decisions made by the treating physician following a consultation and taking into account each patient’s specific circumstances and needs. Strengthening the connection between clinical evidence, reimbursement decisions and timely treatment pathways should therefore be an important policy priority.
Ultimately, for patients, the question is simple: Does innovation reach them when they need it? For ovarian cancer, making sure the answer is yes requires continued collaboration across the healthcare community which can help to strengthen awareness, patient pathways and timely, predictable access to appropriate treatment.
There are major disparities in access to new oncology treatments across Europe, with an average delay of nearly 600 days between approval and patient access in 2024. What factors are driving these delays, and what role can pharmaceutical companies play in reducing them?
JA: Hungary has strong scientific and clinical capabilities, but the value of innovation ultimately depends on whether new treatments reach eligible patients in a timely, predictable and sustainable way.
Hungary has taken meaningful steps to expand access to innovative therapies, including adding 83 new active-substance and indication entries to public reimbursement in 2026 and introducing a new pathway for named-patient reimbursement in 2025. However, further progress is needed. The latest EFPIA Patients W.A.I.T.
Indicator shows that 21% of the 168 innovative medicines assessed were available in Hungary, compared with 45% across the EU’s 27 member states. Hungary’s median time to availability was 476 days, versus 532 days across the EU, indicating that the main challenge is the breadth of access, not only speed. Closing this gap will require policymakers, healthcare professionals, patient organizations and industry to develop a transparent, evidence-based and sustainable framework together. By building on recent progress through continued dialogue and shared ambition, Hungary can bring medical innovation to more patients when they need it most.
Strengthening collaboration and early dialogue among policymakers, healthcare stakeholders and industry could further support a transparent and predictable reimbursement environment in Hungary, with greater clarity around timelines and opportunities for meaningful engagement.
This is particularly important in oncology, where delays in access can have significant consequences for patients. Ovarian cancer is a clear example: Where patients are waiting for access to an innovative treatment, they may need to remain on alternative treatment pathways, despite the potential clinical value of the treatment they are ultimately intended to receive. Ultimately, we need a healthcare environment where innovation can reach patients when they need it, while remaining sustainable for the healthcare system.
Beyond raising awareness, how is AbbVie working with patient organizations, clinicians and policymakers to improve ovarian cancer outcomes, and what measurable progress would you hope to see over the next five years?
JA: Over the coming years, we hope to see continued progress in translating medical innovation into timely and equitable improvement in patient care, particularly for people living with conditions where significant unmet needs remain, including ovarian cancer.The partnership between AbbVie and the Mályvavirág Foundation is one example of how industry and patient organizations can work together to raise awareness and bring the patient perspective into the healthcare debate. But greater awareness needs to be matched by concrete changes in the healthcare system. For ovarian cancer, I would prioritize three areas for action in Hungary: stronger recognition of ovarian cancer within national cancer and women’s health strategies, more effective pathways for earlier diagnosis and referral, and a more predictable and timely route from regulatory approval to reimbursement and patient access for innovative treatments.
More broadly, Hungary could strengthen the predictability of its reimbursement system by establishing clearer timelines for access decisions, enabling earlier dialogue between policymakers and relevant stakeholders, and ensuring that reimbursement decisions are based on robust clinical and health-economic evidence. This would help reduce uncertainty and make it easier for the healthcare system to plan for the sustainable adoption of innovation.
Equally, there is an opportunity to build further on Hungary’s strong clinical research environment by fostering closer collaboration among policymakers, healthcare professionals, patients, universities and industry helping to advance innovation and improve patient care. A stronger research ecosystem can benefit both patients and the wider healthcare system, but its full value is realized only when successful innovation can ultimately reach patients.
Over the next five years, the ambition should therefore be clear: earlier diagnosis, more predictable access and faster translation of medical innovation into better outcomes for Hungarian patients.
This article was created with the support of AbbVie. • Important information: This information is provided for general informational purposes only and does not replace medical diagnosis, treatment, or consultation with a healthcare professional. • Veeva code: HU-ABBV-260018 • Approval date: October 12, 2026
This article was first published in Pharma Industry Review 2026 / 2.
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