Tecan’s role in fighting cancer: from research to clinic

By the time you turn 40, chances are that someone close to you has had cancer. Too many of us are familiar with the consequences of a diagnosis coming at a late stage of the disease, or the right treatment not being received in time.

Even though cancer survival rates are improving, we still have a long way to go. In recent years, the medical community has gained many important insights that could greatly improve cancer treatment. Leading thinkers agree that it is all about getting the right diagnosis, and consequently the right treatment, to the right patient at the right time. That may sound like a truism, but the consequence of this thought has been a massive change in the way that cancer healthcare is now being designed and performed. We are moving on from the one-size-fits-all approach in favor of a precise focus on each individual patient’s case. We are moving away from a curative, sick-care strategy towards more predictive, pre-emptive, and preventative strategies. This is a vast undertaking, implying that every individual in our growing, aging population needs to be assessed, diagnosed, and treated as an individual – and preferably well ahead of becoming ill.

This strategy still requires a massive rethink of our healthcare operation. It’s not a question of more beds; when we get this right, there will be fewer patients with late-stage cancer to care for because the disease will be stopped before it starts or progresses to that stage. The massive healthcare costs associated with cancer treatment could be more easily managed – cancer would be treated much earlier, and cured, or cancer might not appear at all, due to effective prevention programs.

Our understanding of the causes of cancer is progressing every year. The missing link is the empowerment of healthcare systems so that we can scale our approaches to screening, early diagnosis, early treatment, surgical intervention, and eventually, prevention. This is the role that Tecan can play: enabling our customers to scale the research, diagnosis, and treatment in the global fight against cancer.

This year’s annual report from Tecan focuses on our role in fighting cancer, from the very earliest research phase in the lab, to advanced robotic surgery, to the prevention of the disease altogether. As a stakeholder, you will know that Tecan plays in many adjacent fields, that we were a driving force in COVID-19 testing, pandemic surveillance and the development of mRNA vaccines, and we have equally important roles in addressing genetic, metabolic, neurological, and cardiovascular disease.

This year, the spotlight is on cancer. Read about how Tecan is involved in scaling healthcare innovation globally, playing a decisive role from basic research to late-stage treatment and early prevention. Tecan’s contribution is key in the fight to rid the world of the devastation of this disease.

Many thanks for your continued support.