One of the cornerstones of the Unicancer strategic project, our purchasing and access to innovation policy aims to enable access to state-of-the-art equipment and innovative treatments in all the facilities in our network, in accordance with a responsible purchasing policy.
“Hospital procurement is all the more important in that it is part of a medical and scientific project. I wish to continue the actions undertaken to facilitate access to innovative solutions in the Unicancer network, for the benefit of patients”
Luc Delporte, Unicancer Purchasing and Access to Innovation Director
A strategic role for innovation
Created in 2011, the Purchasing and access to innovation Department at Unicancer takes on a genuine strategic dimension, enabling access to state-of-the-art equipment, and to novel treatments across France.
Developed with multidisciplinary teams, our purchasing policy is one of the key areas of Unicancer’s strategic project. Its objective is to strengthen the Centres’ capacity to improve their medico-economic performance, to integrate the latest innovations into their practices and to remain at the forefront of the fight against cancer, for the benefit of patients.
By developing collaborations between the Centres in the Unicancer network and exclusive partnerships with industrial players, our Purchasing Department contributes to providing solutions that meet the needs of healthcare professionals.
Strategy & Commitment
Commitment towards our Centres and suppliers
The Centres in our network pool certain activities, including the purchase of equipment, services, treatments and biomedical devices, as part of our groupement de coopération sanitaire (GCS).
Unicancer’s purchasing policy is based on the mutualisation of needs and resources, the improvement of supply processes and the rationalisation of article and supplier references. This gives the staff of the Centres early access to the latest innovations.
Its remit is not limited to the purchase of goods and services, but also includes the development of cooperations, research partnerships and support initiatives for setting up new programmes, services, and training.
This new teaching activity started off with, among others, a cycle of training courses on the radiation protection of patients (in French), which reached 715 professionals in 2019/2020 and webinars on different materials, software and services selected for the Centres’ radiotherapy departments. Finally, between 2020 and 2021, the Unicancer Purchasing Division played an essential role in helping Centres deal with the health crisis due to the pandemic, and to be able to continue to innovate.
Underlying our policy are transparent and objective relations with suppliers, by which requirements are precisely set out in specifications. Potential suppliers are selected on the basis of clear and set criteria and on the basis of negotiated conditions and confidentiality of the information obtained in tenders.
Our current calls for tenders, and our 6 main commitments
A corporate and partner-based dimension
Unicancer works actively with national bodies (DGOS, DGS, ANSM, IRSN, ANAP …) and international organisations (WHO, French Healthcare, Embassies…) towards the continuous improvement of the purchasing function, to promote good practices and to contribute to the mitigation of risks (inherent to shortage situations, to product use, quality etc.). The purchasing and access to innovation department also works with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS – Centre national de la recherche scientifique), French grandes écoles and universities (EHESP, Université Paris Dauphine, UCA Nice, Clermont…) through partnerships which include innovation in the educational projects.
Luc Delporte, Purchasing and Access to Innovation Director at Unicancer, is also the chairman of the national health product buyers’ club (CLAPS – Club des acheteurs des produits de santé), bringing together leading private and public hospital stakeholders, who, within the association, actively contribute to the health safety and efficiency of healthcare facilities, by implementing good practices in terms of securing of supplies, sustainable and responsible purchasing and standardisation.
A responsible purchasing policy
Unicancer has committed to observe the principles of the United Nations Global Compact for human rights, labour and environmental standards.
These principles are set out in Unicancer specifications, which thus ensure sustainable development criteria are acknowledged by its suppliers and ensure that more environmentally-friendly goods and services are selected and provided in accordance with the highest social, ethical and environmental standards. Unicancer strives especially to reduce its carbon footprint and to promote digital procurement.
Unicancer purchasing key figures
- Financial volume negotiated: €830 million per annum (medical products, biomedical equipment, IT, services)
- + 20% compared to 2019
- Purchasing group of 18 French cancer centres + 1 affiliated centre
- Mean rate of adhesion of French cancer centres to Unicancer markets: 80 %
- Almost 200 experts involved in the purchasing working group
- 715 professionals trained in 2019/2020
- 55 markets in 4 categories
2020 data, unless otherwise stipulated.
