Ovarian Cancer Action reflections on our partnership in 2021

This year the BIA partnered with Ovarian Cancer Action, the leading organisation dedicated to creating meaningful change for people with ovarian cancer. The Research Relay 2021 was a virtual fundraising event that took place throughout the month of May. The BIA and its members managed to raise a fantastic £22,000 and logged a very impressive distance of 27,462 km (that's London to Chicago and back. Twice!)

The BIA team would like to thank Ovarian Cancer Action for working with us and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.

As we come to the end of our time as the BioIndustry Association’s Charity of the year, we have been reflecting on what a fantastic opportunity it has been for us.

Ovarian Cancer Action is working towards a world where no woman dies of ovarian cancer. One woman dies in the UK from ovarian cancer every two hours and although five-year survival rates for ovarian cancer are improving, other cancers, such as breast cancer, had better survival rates two generations ago than ovarian cancer does today. We want to improve survival rates through funding high quality research and including the patient voice in everything we do. 

We were inspired by how the BIA brought the biotech and bioprocessing industries together during the pandemic to help develop vaccines over the last year and a half. Fostering a space for collaboration and accelerated innovation on an international scale has inspired us in what could be achieved in the ovarian cancer research field.

Over the year we’ve developed close relationships with the leading biotechs working in ovarian cancer, and we are privileged that we have been given this opportunity to create new connections and learn more about this field. We know these connections will help to accelerate our work to improve outcomes for women affected by ovarian cancer, and ensure new treatments are developed quickly to reach patients as soon as possible.

 The Research Relay

Throughout May, we called on BIA members to participate in our Research Relay to help raise money for crucial research to find more effective treatments for ovarian cancer. We want to say a massive thank you to all the teams who took part, helping to raise £22,000 for OCA. We are so grateful for all of your hard work. We were able to present awards to the winning teams who raised the most money at the BIA Summer Party back in September, our first in person event in a year and a half, including the top team MedAnnex. 

Maximising the impact of our research

Cary Wakefield, CEO of Ovarian Cancer Action said “A woman in the UK dies of ovarian cancer every two hours. It is an incredibly complex disease with shockingly low survival rates but we are committed to changing this for women affected, now and in the future. Reflecting over the last year, our partnership with the BIA has not only helped to raise money towards vital research to help more women survive ovarian cancer, but has opened doors to maximise the impact of our research over the next five years. We are so grateful for this experience and we look forward to continuing a relationship with BIA and its members. Together, we can work towards a future where every woman survives ovarian cancer”.

We want to say a massive thank you to the BIA for all their support over the last year, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.