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Dallas-based Susan G. Komen is partnering with AstraZeneca to build the Navigation Infrastructure Collaboration. [Photo: Adobe Stock]<\/p>\n
The Dallas-based Susan G. Komen breast cancer nonprofit organization and United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca want to make life a little easier for breast cancer patients and care providers.<\/p>\n
Susan G. Komen teamed up with AstraZeneca to improve patient navigation for cancer patients and caregivers. Patient navigation offers help maneuvering the health care system, knocking down barriers to care and tapping into cancer-related resources.<\/p>\n
The Komen-AstraZeneca partnership will build the Navigation Infrastructure Collaboration. The initiative aims to help patients better understand diagnoses and treatment options, coordinate appointments, manage health insurance challenges and find financial assistance.<\/p>\n
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Victoria Smart is senior vice president of mission at the Dallas-based nonprofit Susan G. Komen. [Photo: Susan G. Komen]<\/p>\n
The collaborative effort \u201cseeks to change the current support model so that patient navigation is available across all care systems and ZIP codes and not limited by what individual providers can offer,\u201d Victoria Smart, senior vice president of mission at Susan G. Komen, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Smart said many patients and their caregivers encounter issues with obtaining high-quality care and life-saving treatments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next breakthrough in cancer care may not come from the lab; it may be from breaking down the barriers that stand between patients and the cures,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Improving access to care<\/p>\n
About 30% of cancer patients receive care outside accredited programs, which can create a gap in navigation capabilities, Komen said. This gap could cause delays in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care. In its last fiscal year, Komen\u2019s Patient Care Center provided navigation services to almost 13,000 people.<\/p>\n
Smart told Dallas Innovates the Navigation Infrastructure Collaboration will set up a Komen-run virtual patient navigation service that incorporates local hospitals and clinics.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of requiring every hospital or clinic to build and sustain supportive patient navigation programs \u2014 which requires investments in staff, technology, training and more for each setting \u2014 care teams can connect patients with Komen\u2019s Patient Care Center, which already has this infrastructure in place to provide telehealth-based support,\u201d Smart said.<\/p>\n
This system will directly help patients while easing burdens on health care providers, she said.<\/p>\n
Navigation study<\/p>\n
As part of the collaboration, a Komen-AstraZeneca study will identify best practices for establishing centralized, collaborative patient navigation. Smart said the study could lead to navigation services for all cancer patients, not just those with breast cancer. The study will run through February 2028.<\/p>\n
During the study, several pilot sites will test patient navigation services, Smart said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose findings will inform a final national policy roadmap and recommendations for broader adoption \u2026 Our goal is to measure whether barriers identified have been resolved, continuity of care has been preserved and whether patient distress has been reduced,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
More about AstraZeneca<\/p>\n
Alison Dziarmaga, vice president and head of the breast cancer franchise at AstraZeneca, said in a statement the company teamed up with Komen to expand access to patient navigation \u201cfor those who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Alison](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AstraZeneca.AlisonDziarmaga.jpg\")
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Alison Dziarmaga is vice president and head of the breast cancer franchise at AstraZeneca. [Photo: Susan G. Komen]<\/p>\n
\u201cNavigating breast cancer care can be complex, and no one should have to face it alone. Patient navigation provides trusted guidance and helps address barriers that may delay or disrupt care,\u201d Dziarmaga said. \u201cAt AstraZeneca, we believe scientific innovation has the greatest impact when patients can access the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
AstraZeneca ranks as one of the world\u2019s largest pharmaceutical companies. The company, which makes several drugs for breast cancer patients, employs nearly 18,000 people in the U.S. That includes workers at a manufacturing plant in Coppell.<\/p>\n
Last year, AstraZeneca completed a $445 million upgrade of the Coppell plant. The plant makes Lokelma, which treats high levels of potassium in the blood. As of last October, the facility employed more than 250 people.<\/p>\n
AstraZeneca acquired San Mateo, California-based ZS Pharma for $2.7 billion in 2015. ZS graduated from a tech incubator in Fort Worth and had offices in Coppell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas-based Susan G. Komen is partnering with AstraZeneca to build the Navigation Infrastructure Collaboration. [Photo: Adobe Stock] The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[152222,31533,583,102,104,103,152223,124511,152224],"class_list":["post-439602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-alison-dziarmaga","tag-astrazeneca","tag-breast-cancer","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-patient-navigation","tag-susan-g-komen","tag-victoria-smart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}