New study led by Horizon and supported by Roche Canada delivers cancer treatment in the comfort of a patient's home
The project originated with a research study led by Horizon medical oncologists Dr. Mahmoud Abdelsalam, Dr. Luisa Galvis and Dr. James Michael whereby New Brunswick patients diagnosed with certain types of lung cancer receive Health Canada-authorized subcutaneous cancer immunotherapy at home, administered by nurses from Medavie's New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program. The initiative was formally announced by the New Brunswick delegation during the annual BIO International Convention in June 2024 in San Diego, California, and the first treatment milestone occurred in New Brunswick this past March.
'This trial marks a turning point in lung cancer care—bringing treatment from the hospital to patients' homes, where they are most comfortable,' said Dr. Abdelsalam, who served as principal investigator of the research initiative. 'We are proud to lead this Canadian-first trial from New Brunswick, showing that innovation in health care can start right here at home, improving the quality of care for New Brunswickers.'
The study was initially designed to bring care closer to communities. However, Dr. Abdelsalam challenged the team to go further — to 'close the last mile' by delivering modern cancer therapies directly to patients' homes.
Previously, patients travelled to hospital-based infusion centres for intravenous cancer treatments, often spending at least 30 to 60 minutes per visit. The new subcutaneous injection reduces treatment time to about seven minutes, offering a more convenient, less invasive option that minimizes disruptions to patients' daily life, reduces the strain on health care providers, and increases capacity in the health care system.
'The reality is, if patients must leave their communities, take time off work, arrange childcare or organize transportation, it disrupts their lives significantly,' said Jennifer Sheils, Horizon's Vice-President of Strategy, Transformation and Chief Innovation Officer. 'They occupy IV therapy hospital chairs, require nursing and pharmacy resources and often face the challenge of travelling home while feeling unwell. These impacts extend beyond the treatment day and can affect their overall well-being and financial stability.'
As industry partners like Roche Canada introduce new therapies that move beyond traditional IV delivery, Horizon is leading the way in rethinking cancer care by putting patient needs first and helping to build a more efficient, responsive health care system.
Key benefits of an injection (subcutaneous) formulation to the patient, compared to traditional IV formulations, can include:
'The challenges faced by healthcare systems in Canada have never been greater. Horizon Health's outstanding leadership shows that transforming this system is possible. By thinking differently about how we collaborate, we can deliver better care to patients and their families. We are very proud to partner with Horizon Health on this project, which will help ensure all patients have access to the best innovation in healthcare, when they need it - a key part of Roche's vision,' said Dr. Dan Edgcumbe, Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Roche Pharma Canada. 'This experience will help us all better understand the full value of healthcare innovation to provide more accessible, flexible care options while expanding healthcare system capacity.'
Through this partnership, patients now have the choice to receive injections at home, reducing disruption to their daily lives and alleviating pressures on hospital resources. This innovative model empowers patients while supporting a more efficient and patient-centered health care system.
This approach is also expected to improve health system operations by reducing pressure on infusion clinics, increasing treatment capacity, optimizing workflow and potentially lowering overall costs per patient.
Horizon hopes health care systems across Canada will look to this example as a model for accelerating patient-centred innovation. Advancing research and adopting new approaches to care delivery will be critical to building a more sustainable health care system.
Horizon is committed to fostering a culture of improving patient outcomes through research and innovation initiatives like this one. Each year, Horizon Research Services supports approximately 117 clinical trials for new treatments and solutions, along with nearly 307 investigator-led studies advancing health care knowledge and practice.
Patients interested in participating in this study, referred to as Subcutaneous Treatment with Immunotherapy for Cancer Patients at Home, or STITCH-01, or another Horizon research study are encouraged to complete a research application form, available on the Horizon website.
About Horizon Health Network
Horizon Health Network is the largest regional health authority – and one of the largest employers – in New Brunswick, and the second-largest health authority in Atlantic Canada. Our leadership and health care providers are experts in diverse areas of health and community services and provide services to a half a million people. The organization has an annual budget of approximately $1.4 billion and has more than 14,000 employees, 1,242 physicians and 1,300 volunteers, as well as 17 foundations and 16 auxiliaries and alumnae organizations.
About Roche Canada
At Roche Canada, patients and science are at the heart of everything we do. Our passion for science and our commitment to relentlessly pursuing the impossible for patients have made us one of the world's leading pharmaceutical, in-vitro diagnostics, and diabetes care management companies.
With our combined strength in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, we're driving healthcare forward, while ensuring we deliver meaningful benefits for patients and sustainable healthcare systems. We are committed to creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love.
And we're adding our expertise in new areas, such as artificial intelligence, real world data collection and analysis and collaborating with many different sectors and industries.
Having the courage to reinvent ourselves and question the status quo is what patients and healthcare systems expect from Roche - and our commitment is as strong today as it was on the first day of our Canadian journey in 1931. Today, Roche Canada employs nearly 2,000 people at its offices in Mississauga, Ontario, in Laval, Quebec, and across the country from coast to coast to coast.
For more information, please visit www.RocheCanada.com or follow Roche Canada on LinkedIn.
About ResearchNB
ResearchNB is the province's research and innovation enabler. With offices in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton, it provides New Brunswick's research sector with critical leadership and support including advocacy, initial funding, connections to potential partners, and the translation of science into economic opportunities. Projects developed in partnership with ResearchNB help New Brunswickers to thrive through research that leads to new, innovative business practices and products.
About New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program
The New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program (EMP) delivers primary health care services to New Brunswickers of all ages in their homes and communities. EMP, known by many as the 'hospital without walls', includes a team of over 850 professionals who provide quality home health care services to eligible residents when their needs can be met safely in the community. EMP operates on a client and family centered model with a focus on building and maintaining partnerships with clients and their families, physicians, agencies, departments and other service providers to best meet patient needs.
SOURCE Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
37 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Deal or no deal, Trump's looming 35% tariff has business worried about current exemptions
With Prime Minister Mark Carney suggesting Canada might not ink a trade deal with the U.S. by Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline, Canadian business leaders say their biggest concern is keeping existing tariff exemptions in place. The U.S. president has said that unless there's an agreement by Aug. 1, that Canadian exports to the U.S. will face an across the board tariff of 35 per cent. Deal or not, the crucial thing for businesses and the Canadian economy is keeping an existing exemption from tariffs for goods which comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade, said Matthew Holmes, head of public policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. 'I think that would be in place either way, you know, and that's my hope, because if we're no longer getting any kind of CUSMA exemption, then we're in a very different territory,' said Holmes. 'That is an absolute economic crisis.' The White House has previously signalled that the CUSMA exemption would continue to apply if there's no deal. The package includes caps on imported steel, a push to prioritize Canadian steel in government But given Trump's unpredictability, that's not exactly a certainty, said Holmes. Nor, he added, is the possibility of more sector-specific tariffs the day after any deal is signed. 'I think even if we get a deal Aug. 1, we could see him announce more tariffs on Aug. 2, or Aug. 7,' said Holmes. Dan Kelly, head of a small businesses advocacy group, thinks there's a fifty-fifty shot at some kind of deal by Trump's deadline. Kelly also says that keeping the CUSMA exemption in place is vital — even more important, he argued, than trying to reduce the sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and copper. 'As harmful as the sectoral tariffs are, protecting the CUSMA exemption is, I would say, job one on the part of the federal government,' said Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. If a broad-based U.S. tariff does get implemented, Kelly worries that Canada could react with an across-the-board tariff on U.S. imports. That, said Kelly, would hurt Canadian consumers and small businesses alike. 'Are we going to be happy with a 10 or 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on all U.S. goods when each of us as consumers and almost half of businesses import products every day from the United States?,' Kelly asked. Trump boasted about deals with Japan and the Philippines in posts on social media Wednesday morning, and claimed he will only consider lowering tariff rates if countries open their markets to the United States. 'I will always give up Tariff points if I can get major countries to OPEN THEIR MARKETS TO THE USA,' the president posted. 'Another great power of Tariffs. Without them, it would be impossible to get countries to OPEN UP!!! ALWAYS, ZERO TARIFFS TO AMERICA!!!' Many details of the loose frameworks for the agreements with Japan and the Philippines remained unclear after the president's initial announcements Tuesday. Japan will still be hit with 15 per cent tariffs — down from Trump's proposed 25 per cent duties — and the Philippines will be hit with 19 per cent levies — slightly lower than the threatened 20 per cent. In return, the president said both countries would open their markets to American goods. The president also said Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S. 'at my direction.' The White House on Tuesday also provided more information on the framework of the deal with Indonesia that Trump announced earlier this month. That agreement will see Indonesia hit with a 19 per cent tariff, down from Trump's proposed 32 per cent levy. Trump previously announced frameworks for deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. On Tuesday, Carney confirmed Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in Washington this week but downplayed expectations of a deal by Trump's deadline. 'They're complex negotiations and we'll use all the time that's necessary,' Carney told reporters after meeting with premiers at the Council of the Federation gathering in Huntsville, Ont. Carney said the government will agree to a deal 'if there's one on the table that is in the best interests of Canadians.' Countries around the world are watching for details of the deals. It remains unclear whether striking an agreement with the U.S. now would mean a reprieve from Trump's separate import taxes on steel, aluminum and automobiles, which operate outside his global tariff regime. Duties on copper are also set to be introduced on Aug. 1. With files from The Canadian Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
LeBlanc 'encouraged' after meeting with Lutnick, lawmakers ahead of tariff deadline
WASHINGTON — Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he's feeling "encouraged" after meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers in Washington, D.C., ahead of next week's tariff deadline. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap Canada with 35 per cent tariffs if there's not a deal by Aug. 1 but the White House has said it would not include goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Canada is also being hit with Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be impacted by copper tariffs that are also expected to kick in on Aug. 1. LeBlanc says Ottawa will take the time necessary to get the best deal in the interest of Canadians, indicating a new economic and security arrangement may not materialize by Trump's deadline. LeBlanc says he will return to Washington next week for additional meetings. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she's hopeful for a return to normal relations with Canada but doesn't sense there will be a deal before Trump's deadline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025. Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
LeBlanc ‘encouraged' after meeting with Lutnick, lawmakers ahead of tariff deadline
WASHINGTON - Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he's feeling 'encouraged' after meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers in Washington, D.C., ahead of next week's tariff deadline. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap Canada with 35 per cent tariffs if there's not a deal by Aug. 1 but the White House has said it would not include goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Canada is also being hit with Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be impacted by copper tariffs that are also expected to kick in on Aug. 1. LeBlanc says Ottawa will take the time necessary to get the best deal in the interest of Canadians, indicating a new economic and security arrangement may not materialize by Trump's deadline. LeBlanc says he will return to Washington next week for additional meetings. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she's hopeful for a return to normal relations with Canada but doesn't sense there will be a deal before Trump's deadline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.
