LONDON and TAIPEI, Oct. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Health systems worldwide are wrestling with the same question: how to bring a growing stream of innovative medicines to patients within budgets that must also serve everyone else.

England and Taiwan are both taking steps to accelerate access. NICE has raised its cost-effectiveness threshold for the first time since 1999, while Taiwan is building a NT$10 billion Cancer Drug Fund across 2025 and 2026 and has introduced a provisional payment scheme that grants temporary coverage while real-world evidence is gathered.

Even so, there will be a period between a medicine's licence and its reimbursement. For a patient with cancer or a rare disease, those months matter.

That is the gap PatientsForce was built for. Taiwan's largest patient support ecosystem runs programmes on behalf of more than 50 global pharmaceutical companies and supports more than 30,000 patients a year. Since 2017 it has delivered NT$10 billion in medicine subsidies.

Its digital service covers more than 100 medicines and over 70 per cent of cancer types, while gathering real-world data on uptake, adherence and outcomes.

The approach earned PatientsForce Silver in the Global Good Trailblazer of the Year category at the Global Good Awards 2026, held at BMA House, London, on 24 September. Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Evie Wang collected the award.

"Every health system has to draw a line on what it can afford, and that line will always leave some patients waiting," said Ms Wang. "Our job is to make sure the wait doesn't become the end of the road."

Sean Chang, Founder and President of PatientsForce, said: "Taiwan has shown real commitment to bringing innovative medicines to patients sooner. Patient support programmes, done well, complement that effort. They protect patients today and generate the evidence payers need tomorrow."

The Global Good Awards reward proven impact rather than pledges. Entries are scored by independent judges and researched in depth before a final judging day in London. The programme holds an "Outstanding" rating under the Awards Trust Mark.

Taiwan's Tzu Chi Foundation also won Bronze in the Community Partnership of the Year category.

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