Leora Horn, SVP, Late Development Oncology at AstraZeneca, shared on LinkedIn:
“Having spent much of my career working to deliver new treatment options to patients living with cancer, I’ve learned that scientific progress is made possible by the people who bring it to life in communities around the world. Local teams, investigators, clinical trial sites, and patients turn possibility into progress.
Their commitment is what makes new treatments accessible, transforming innovation into outcomes that could be meaningful for patients.
I recently had the opportunity to visit our teams in Italy and Germany, and I couldn’t be more grateful for everything they’re doing to help expand access to clinical trials.
In Italy, we now have 17 active recruiting studies with an additional six in startup, and we’ve activated 29 trial sites thus far in 2026. In Germany, we’re running 20 active recruiting studies with another four in startup, and we’ve opened 128 sites between January and August with an additional 143 site initiation visits planned through the rest of the year. Behind every one of those numbers is a team working hard to bring a trial closer to a patient who needs it.
I was also fortunate to connect with many thought leaders throughout my visit, including ESMO president-elect and global leader in breast cancer research, Professor Giuseppe Curigliano, and future ESMO president Professor Florian Lordick. The opportunity to learn from your perspectives, and how industry can be most impactful in improving patient outcomes today while empowering the next generation of healthcare leaders for tomorrow, is greatly appreciated.
Visits like this leave me optimistic about what we can achieve together. By strengthening the networks that make clinical trials possible, we can help ensure that more patients, regardless of where they live, can access the latest treatment opportunities. The work is immensely meaningful, and it’s why I’m so grateful to be part of a team that keeps pushing to make it possible.”
Other articles featuring Leora Horn on OncoDaily.
