The World Health Organisation reports that some five billion people now live in countries with limited or no access to controlled medicines that relieve pain. Many anti-cancer drugs are also very costly and out of reach of many people. As a result, cancer patients, particularly in developing regions, are in dire need of painkillers and affordable drugs.

Doug Ulman, president of Lance Armstrong’s cancer foundation Livestrong, said cancer experts were working out plans for a pilot scheme in five countries – Rwanda, India, Haiti, Malawi and Jordan – to procure cancer drugs from pharmaceutical companies at lower prices. ‘It’s all about proving that you can deliver that great care at a lower cost in a developing country … for a lot of these companies, it’s a new market,’ Mr Ulman said.

There were 12.7 million new cases of cancer and 7.6 million cancer deaths in 2008, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. There will be an estimated 15 million new cases in 2020, with the developing world carrying 60 per cent of that burden.