Novartis
endorses the right to health. We believe that each sphere of society – patients,
medical professionals, government and business – has a role to play in support
of the right to health. Our primary and most important
contribution to society is to discover, develop, produce and distribute high quality
health-care products, targeting unmet medical need. Our commitment to patients
leads us to maintain one of the highest levels of research investment among top-tier
pharmaceutical companies. Our drug development program has been one of the most
productive in the global pharmaceutical industry in recent years.
Thanks to our good financial results, we also try to help where there is immediate
need, with products, funds and other supportive measures, on a case-by-case basis.
Last year, we were able to contribute USD 696 million and reach 6.5 million patients
in need through access-to-medicine projects around the world.
The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases – based in Singapore – is bringing
the ongoing revolution in biomedical science and technology to bear on diseases
of the developing world, initially tuberculosis and dengue fever. |
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provide medicines at cost, or sometimes free, to patients in the developing world
afflicted by diseases such as leprosy, malaria and tuberculosis. We also offer
discounts and support programs to patients in industrialized countries who lack
medical insurance or other financial resources. For
more than 25 years, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD)
has made significant contributions to the health of people in the developing world.
The NFSD is developing patientcentered daily-observed-treatment systems (DOTS)
for tuberculosis and also supports patient education programs against malaria.
MILESTONES 2005: LEPROSY Late last year, NFSD reaffirmed
its longstanding commitment to eliminate leprosy by extending an ongoing public-private
partnership with the World Health Organization for an additional five years, through
2010. Since 2000, Novartis has provided free treatment
for all leprosy patients worldwide in a pioneering collaboration with the WHO.
More than 4 million people with leprosy have been cured through the use of effective
multi-drug therapy (MDT) supplied by Novartis. By
2000, the prevalence of leprosy had been reduced to less than one case per 10
000 population worldwide. Efforts today focus on eliminating leprosy in nine countries
where the disease remains a public health problem: Brazil, India and Nepal, as
well as several African nations including Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. During
2005, the number of new cases detected fell 21% from the previous year, indicating
that the backlog of undetected |
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is being reached and effectively treated. “The leprosy
drug donation program is an expression of our belief at Novartis that a special
effort needs to be made against diseases of poverty,” says Urs Baerlocher, Head
of Legal and General Affairs of the Novartis Group and Member of the Group Executive
Committee.
GLIVEC Novartis
continues to enhance access to its cancer therapy Glivec1 through a global patient-access
initiative. Over the last three years, the Glivec International Patient Assistance
Program (GIPAP) has been expanded to 79 countries and in 2005 provided Glivec
free of charge to more than 15 000 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Novartis
continues to find innovative solutions for access despite administrative and infrastructure
barriers within many countries. By partnering with experienced physicians and
local organizations, Novartis has been able to reach patients who would otherwise
not have access to treatment for their life-threatening diseases.
The GIPAP program is based on a “patient-direct” model – ensuring delivery of
Glivec to patients through a network of more than 780 registered physicians and
more than 280 qualified treatment centers worldwide. The Max Foundation (TMF)
and Axios International are the global partners that administer GIPAP. In
China, Novartis has partnered with the Chinese Charity Foundation (CCF) to establish
a national GIPAP. More than 120 physicians, representing 78 qualified medical
institutions in 27 provinces, have 1 Marketed under
the brand name Gleevec in the US |
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