Aussie doctors say no sick child should have to go overseas for drug trials

No sick child should ever have to travel overseas for trial drugs a new alliance of doctors and researchers say, calling on the government to establish a new platform to allow access to cutting edge trials here in Australia. Annabelle Potts travelled to Mexico for brain cancer treatment but died earlier this year, aged five.

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An alliance of the nation’s leading doctors, academics and research scientists is calling for a new “one front door” platform to allow Australian patients to access international cutting-edge medical trials.

The establishment of a “national accelerator platform” would cut red tape and speed-up access to potentially lifesaving clinical trials for many patients, including children with cancer.

Australian Health and Research Alliance head Professor Helena Teede said while Australia had a world-class health system it was fragmented and inefficient due to state and federal jurisdictions, ethics and regulatory frameworks.

Annabelle Potts went to Mexico for brain cancer treatment. She died earlier this year. Picture: Nathan Edwards

The system was seeing Australian patients forced overseas for access to trials or even ­exploited by non evidence-based treatments due to a lack of hope.

“We don’t have a national system, it’s too slow at the moment and could be 10 times faster,” Prof Teede said.

“We need a national front door, one place to go for trials, aligned and collaborating across the states and hospitals.”

The current system was so “pockmarked” a doctor may be running a new trial on an MS drug “but an MS patient two doors down in the same hospital may not know about it”, she said.

The AHRA have partnered with the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance to call for the establishment of the “national accelerator platform”.

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Kathie Potts, whose five-year-old daughter Annabelle died of brain cancer earlier this year, said no parent should ever be forced to find treatment overseas.

“This would make such a difference for those with terminal and rare cancers. We did not want to go to Mexico but there was nothing here,” she said.

After returning to Australia, the family found there were inconsistencies between two of Sydney’s children’s hospitals with regards to a trial drug, highlighting the current difficult situation.

Originally published as Aussie doctors say no sick child should have to go overseas for drug trials