Global Citizenship
Enhancing Access
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“Abbott experts are helping the Haiti PIH team expand
its nutrition production and quality while supporting local economic
development. We are committed to advancing this work in 2010 and beyond as part
of Haiti’s rebuilding process.”
Paul Farmer, United Nations Deputy
Special Envoy for Haiti, Co-Founder, Partners In Health
- Paul Farmer, M.D., formed Partners In Health (PIH) to serve
patients in Haiti more than 20 years ago. Abbott supports PIH projects
including health clinics, training programs and mobile health screening units
in 12 countries.
Abbott's expertise, resources and global presence help to bridge gaps in
health care access. We tailor our approach to specific patient needs in
specific regions of the world.
Expanding access to care requires addressing a complex array of challenges.
Affordability is only one of many factors that may be a barrier to access. The
proportion of health care costs borne by individuals, governments and employers
varies significantly around the world. Lack of awareness about health care
issues and treatments, inadequate health care infrastructure and social stigmas
also can make it difficult for patients to get the medicines they need. Abbott
works to address these and other obstacles as part of our core business
strategy and as part of our commitment to enhancing global health and
well-being.
The recent economic recession has heightened concerns about health care
access issues. For example, in the United States, 46 million patients do not
have health insurance – and nearly a quarter of uninsured adults report
forgoing needed care. In 2009, Abbott worked with partners to advocate for U.S.
health care reform legislation that would expand health care coverage while
fostering medical advances.
Increasing Access Through Our Diversified Expertise
Abbott is a worldwide leader in helping physicians treat patients with heart
disease. For example, Abbott's market-leading XIENCE V stent is used
to prop open a narrowed or blocked artery and release the drug everolimus in a
controlled manner to prevent the artery from becoming blocked again following a
stent procedure.
XIENCE V – which is available in the United States, as well as key
countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America – is built upon Abbott's
market-leading bare metal stent, the MULTI-LINK VISION Coronary Stent
System. The VISION platform is designed to facilitate ease of
delivery, making it easier for physicians to maneuver the stent and treat the
diseased portion of the artery.
Abbott sponsors numerous education and training programs to provide
physicians with the latest information on interventional cardiology procedures.
For example, we support the Crossroads Institutes in Tokyo and Brussels in
providing advanced training and peer-to-peer education for physicians from
around the world.
Factors That Play a Role
in Increasing Access
Sustainable Pricing
Abbott works with governments and other health care purchasers to make our
products available at prices appropriate to each marketplace. Abbott's
preferential pricing system is designed to increase access to our HIV medicines
while balancing affordability based on disease burden and governments' ability
to finance health systems. In 2002, Abbott made a commitment to sell its HIV
medicines at $500 per patient per year in Africa and the United Nations-defined
least developed countries (69 countries). Abbott then expanded its preferential
pricing program to create a new tier for low- and low-middle-income countries.
A further price reduction occurred in 2009. In less developed countries, Abbott
has consistently provided branded antiretroviral medicines at prices
competitive with those of generic alternatives.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property protection and the patent system are necessary
mechanisms to promote the research and development of new, life-improving
products. Strong intellectual property systems foster an innovative culture, in
which local innovators can develop new products and technologies knowing that
their inventions and creativity are secure. Policies and mechanisms that
undermine intellectual property protections impede the development of, and
access to, new medicines over the longer term because they lead to an
unsustainable environment for the introduction of new medicines for that
environment.
Abbott evaluates intellectual property protection on a case-by-case basis,
taking into consideration the drivers for promoting innovation and investment,
as well as public health needs. For our HIV products, Abbott does not have
patent protection in any least developed country or all of Africa, with the
exception of South Africa. In conjunction with this, Abbott offers a
comprehensive program to expand access and affordability to its HIV medicines
in the developing world. We are committed to broad registration of our products
with regulatory agencies in nations where those products are needed.
Broad Registration
As an example of our approach to broadening health care access,
Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir), marketed as Aluvia in
developing countries, is Abbott's leading HIV protease inhibitor and is the
most widely registered HIV medicine in the world, according to the World Health
Organization. Kaletra/Aluvia tablets are available, filed or approved
in 170 countries where 98 percent of the developing world's HIV-positive
population lives. Additionally, our lower-strength tablet for pediatric use has
been approved, available or filed in 124 countries. Abbott plans an equally
broad and rapid registration process for our new heat-stable Norvir
tablet.
Effective Philanthropy