Elekta partners with MSD to enhance kidney cancer care using digital solutions
STOCKHOLM – Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced a partnership with MSD (Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA) to develop digital patient monitoring for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), using Elekta’s Kaiku Health solution, a digital platform for patient engagement and reported outcomes monitoring.
The standard of care for frontline advanced RCC has become immuno-oncology (IO)-based combination therapy (IO- tyrosine kinase inhibitors* (TKI) [for favorable and intermediate-to-poor risk patients ] or IO-IO [for intermediate-to-poor risk patients only]). Despite its effectiveness, optimal and timely management of potential side effects is a key consideration for healthcare providers to ensure patients get the most from their prescribed treatment.
Elekta, with support from MSD, will develop a digital module for patients, keeping them connected with their care team, and educating them about their disease, the treatment and possible side effects.
This module includes comprehensive symptom monitoring and patient support, providing patients with tailored and timely symptom monitoring. In addition, the module offers digital education and support materials created specifically for IO-TKI combination therapy in advanced RCC. The module will be validated in 2024 in collaboration with multiple leading cancer clinics in Europe.
Marc Gailhardou, Vice President, Global Oncology Marketing at MSD said: "The investment made by MSD in partnering with Elekta Kaiku demonstrates our commitment to innovation in kidney cancer care and genitourinary cancers. By combining forces, we aim to empower patients and healthcare providers to optimize patients’ treatment journey and enable shared treatment decision and communication.”
Anish Patankar, SVP & Head of Business Line Software at Elekta, added: “Addressing potential challenges in cancer care involves the implementation of digital patient support. With support of MSD, our shared objective is to improve communication between patients and their care teams. This initiative aims to provide structured support for symptom management and monitoring while also educating patients about their disease and treatment.”
To learn more about Kaiku Health visit www.elekta.com/kaiku.
*Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), are a class of targeted therapy used in cancer treatment. They work by blocking the activity of specific enzymes called tyrosine kinases, which play a crucial role in the growth and division of cancer cells.
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For further information, please contact:
Mattias Thorsson, Vice President, Head of Corporate Communications
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Raven Canzeri, Global Director, Media Relations
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About Elekta
As a leader in precision radiation therapy, Elekta is committed to ensuring every patient has access to the best cancer care possible. We openly collaborate with customers to advance sustainable, outcome-driven and cost-efficient solutions to meet evolving patient needs, improve lives and bring hope to everyone dealing with cancer. To us, it's personal, and our global team of 4,500 employees combine passion, science, and imagination to profoundly change cancer care. We don’t just build technology, we build hope. Elekta is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in more than 40 countries and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, visit elekta.com or follow @Elekta on “X”, formerly known as Twitter.