AstraZeneca is putting the pedal to the metal to drive up early detection of prostate cancer.
The British pharma—which sells Lynparza as a prostate cancer treatment and is also testing its Truqap in the disease—has teamed up with advocacy organization Zero Prostate Cancer for an awareness push timed to the upcoming holiday weekend.
At a pair of NASCAR races scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, AstraZeneca and Zero will sponsor racecars and host onsite events to spread the message that early detection of prostate cancer saves lives.
The sponsored cars will be the No. 53 Chevrolet Camaro driven by JJ Yeley at the BetMGM 300 race on Saturday and the No. 66 Ford Mustang driven by Josh Bilicki at the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. Both cars’ custom paint jobs will prominently feature Zero and AstraZeneca’s logos.
Meanwhile, Zero’s logo will also appear on another pair of cars—No. 17 and No. 77, driven by Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb—at Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, widely regarded as the world’s largest single-day sporting event. As Daly said in a statement, “It’s an honor to help raise awareness where it matters most—on a track watched by millions.”
The Memorial Day holiday is an especially poignant time to raise awareness of prostate cancer, as military veterans have been found to be twice as likely to develop the disease than the general population, according to Zero and AZ’s announcement this week. The sponsorship will overlap with NASCAR’s own tribute to veterans, the annual “NASCAR Salutes” program at the Coca-Cola 600 race.
“Memorial Day weekend is a powerful moment to elevate the conversation around Veterans’ health,” Daniele Paone, U.S. VP of AstraZeneca’s GYN/GU cancer franchise, said in the release. “Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among U.S. Veterans, which is why early detection and access to quality care is critical.”
More broadly, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American men, affecting approximately one in eight men in the U.S.
Zero and AstraZeneca noted in their announcement that the need for greater awareness of prostate cancer and its early detection options has recently become a major topic of discussion as former President Joe Biden’s office confirmed just this week that he’s been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of the disease—contributing to what the partners termed “a moment of national urgency.”
"This weekend isn’t just about racing—it’s about saving lives," Bilicki, one of the drivers, said in a statement. “President Biden’s diagnosis has put prostate cancer in the spotlight, and we’re here to keep it there. If one more man gets tested because of this, we’ve already made a difference.”
The awareness drive ties into Zero’s larger ongoing effort to save 100,000 lives from prostate cancer by 2035. Earlier this year, Novartis poured $7.5 million into the initiative, which has placed a particular emphasis on reaching Black men, veterans, rural communities and others who are disproportionately affected by the disease.