Pharmaceutical companies ratchet up access to medicine programs in poor countries

Released on: February 13, 2009, 12:17 am
Author: Pharmaceutical News 2.0
Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceutical companies ratchet up access to medicine programs in poor countries

Pharmaceutical companies are actively involved in the improvement of public health, all over the world, through their various access to medicine programs.

France-based pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, which also has offices in U.S., runs Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program that it says bring together pharmaceutical companies, doctors, community groups, doctors, and patient advocacy organizations to ensure vulnerable populations have access to medicine.

Norvatis, while acknowledging the issue of access to medicine is complex, partners with the World Health Organization (WHO) and nongovernmental organizations in access to medicines programs it runs in developing countries.

Johnson & Johnson runs a website (Access2wellness.com) and a call center for middle income families in the U.S. who might be in need of their access to medicine programs. The company also runs access to medicine programs in developing countries where it has operations.

GlaxoSmithKline says it’s one of the few pharmaceutical companies researching and developing drugs and vaccines for three diseases the World Health Organization feels receive less or no attention from the pharmaceutical industry: HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. “We look for innovative ways to increase access to medicines,” says the company on its website.

“A few widespread and life-threatening diseases lack effective treatments, while for many others (such as malaria) existing treatments are becoming less effective due to drug resistance,” Adds the company.

Additional Web Resources:
http://www.phrma.org/news_room/columns/access_to_medicine_in_west_virginia
http://www.gsk.com/responsibility/cr-review-2006/access-to-medicines.htm
http://www.novartis.com/about-novartis/corporate-citizenship/patients/access-medicines.shtml
http://www.sanofi-aventis.us/live/us/en/layout.jsp?scat=

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