CC2015 - Issue 3

n Asia, health-care companies and governments work in

close collaboration towards the shared goal of improving

health care. From our perspective, these partnerships

extend well beyond selling products and earning a return.

We are passionate about pursuing a much larger goal -

helping to build sustainable health-care systems that

provide the best possible care. When this goal is achieved

everyone benefits - governments, health-care companies,

and most importantly, patients and the providers who serve

them.

Each country has its own distinct challenges, so the first

step is to listen and learn. We interact with government

authorities to understand their exact needs, work together

to solve challenges, and invest the expertise and resources

required to implement those solutions. This commitment to

partnerships is especially important in emerging markets,

where health ministers are seeking not only medicines, but

support in developing every component of their health-care

systems. Through engaging in a shared commitment, healthcare

companies and their government counterparts can earn

mutual trust and find practical ways to advance cancer care

and the treatment of patients.

Three challenges guide our efforts to develop sustainable

access. The first is to create better awareness of disease

states, medicines, innovative therapies and the effective use

of those medicines and therapies. A second priority is

developing infrastructure - working with countries to help

advance research capabilities, improve health-care systems

and enhance the medical knowledge of health care

providers. A third priority is optimizing availability, or

ensuring that medicines are made available to those who

can benefit.

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE ACCESS:

A SHARED COMMITMENT

JOHN KETCHUM, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EMERGING GROWTH MARKETS, NOVARTIS ONCOLOGY

In emerging markets around the world health-care companies and governments are

working together to develop sustainable access models that lead to better health care. In

this article, Novartis Oncology describes the opportunities and challenges inherent in

building and implementing these models in Asia, and how partnerships between

governments and health-care companies are producing increasingly positive outcomes.

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