BRUSSELS - Today, the Anticancer Fund presents MD Guy Buyens as her new medical director. The independent, private foundation that focuses on more treatment options for cancer patients needed someone with expertise who monitors the oncological world. "We want to feel what the unmet needs are in the fight against cancer. I am convinced that Guy is the ideal person to guide us,” says CEO Lydie Meheus.

Back-up was needed
Up until now, MD Gauthier Bouche has fulfilled both the position of medical director and the position of director clinical research, and because of the size of the tasks that did not become sustainable anymore. "We needed someone for the job of medical director so Gauthier could focus on the clinical trials we supervise", Meheus explains.

Medical communication
Buyens will be responsible for daily medical communication with patients, the public and other stakeholders. He will also function as a liaison with clinicians and specialists. He will help to set out the lines concerning the research policy of the fund. "I am looking forward to getting started at the Anticancer Fund. I can’t wait to work with a talented team of scientists who are looking for more solutions to fight cancer", says Buyens enthusiastically.

Extensive experience
Guy Buyens (°1961) is an MD and was a researcher at the VUB (university in Brussels, Belgium). For decades he worked in both the pharmaceutical industry and in biotechnology, where amongst others he did research in oncology. More recently, he also had a leading position as general manager of the AZ Jan Portaels, a hospital in Vilvoorde, Belgium.

The ACF
The Anticancer Fund supports various clinical trials worldwide. These trials offer new treatment options that have no priority for the pharmaceutical industry due to insufficient financial return (such as combining and re-using existing licensed drugs) in a wide range of cancers. In addition, the fund provides independent information for patients with less common or rare cancers.