Broadening global access to epilepsy treatment: an update from Rwanda

Andrea_Puletto — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:55:08 +0000

Tim Verfaille, Social Business Operations

Andrea_Puletto Tue 08/10/2024 - 10:55

I am proud to announce a significant milestone in our mission to broaden access to antiseizure medications in low- and middle-income communities: Levetiracetam ��ֳ� 500 mg is now publicly available and reimbursed for Rwandese people with epilepsy who need this treatment, going a step further after its funding by private insurance schemes since May.

Nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where treatment gaps exceed 75% in most low-income countries and 50% in most middle-income countries. Epilepsy remains an important cause of disability and mortality in underserved areas, with many lacking adequate treatment due to constraints such as limited healthcare, unequal resources, a lack of access and awareness as well as stigmatization.

As a company with a rich heritage in epilepsy, with over three decades of expertise in epilepsy research and development, we want to play our part to contribute to possible solutions that address unmet medical needs of people living with epilepsy. This is why we are implementing new business models and approaches to reach underserved people with epilepsy. As part of our social business roadmap, we aim to enhance access to our generic antiseizure treatments in countries with a high prevalence of epilepsy.

Today’s news marks the first time that one of our solutions against epilepsy, that is on the WHO Essential Medicines List since 2023, is having received a marketing authorization by a regulatory authority and is being made available in a sub-Saharan country by ��ֳ�.

In early 2024, we received confirmation from the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority that Levetiracetam ��ֳ� 500 mg had been registered and approved for use within the country. This medicine is indicated as monotherapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalization in adults and adolescents over 16 years with newly diagnosed epilepsy. It's also indicated as adjunctive therapy of partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in adults, adolescents, and infants from 1 month of age with epilepsy, in the treatment of myoclonic seizures in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, in the treatment of primary generalised tonic-clonic seizures in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age with Idiopathic Generalised Epilepsy.

Stay tuned for more updates on our commitment to bringing solutions to those who need them most in other underserved communities.

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Comment:

Posted by Ley Sander , 9 October 2024

Well done, ��ֳ�! You need now to do the same for the rest of Sub-Saharan countries.

Comment:

Posted by Teresa Fogelberg, 14 October 2024

this is very good news indeed. Now monitor progress and dont shy away from broading to other African countries. Why not try neighbour countries or Senegal?

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Helping to advance tomorrow’s care equitably

Vanco Vlastimil (��ֳ� S.A.) — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 10:07:33 +0000

Helping to advance tomorrow’s care equitably

Véronique Toully, Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and Risk

Vanco Vlastimi… Mon 27/02/2023 - 11:07

We believe we have a responsibility to help advance tomorrow’s care together – to contribute to a more sustainable future for people, communities and the planet alike. Last week’s publication of our 2022 Integrated Annual Report – Together advancing tomorrow’s care – is a mark of that commitment, showing our continued progress to create value for those we serve, now and into the future.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do at ��ֳ�. In 2022, we touched the lives of over 3.4 million patients by offering impactful medicines to communities around the globe, so that more people can live their best possible lives.

How do we get medicines to those who need them most? Sustainable access is a cornerstone of how we can make this happen. Our ambition is that by 2030, all people who need our medicines in countries where we operate have access to them in a manner that is viable for society, our investors and ��ֳ�. In addition, we aim to improve access to quality care and medicines for people with epilepsy in low- and middle-income geographies around the globe. These commitments stretch from how we provide and measure access to our solutions, to how we improve health equity among diverse patient groups such as the U.S., to reaching more people living with epilepsy in low- and medium income geographies.

Providing access to our solutions

As our Access Coverage Performance Index shows, more patients were able to secure reimbursement to ��ֳ� medicines in countries where we operate, with many of these reimbursement decisions happening faster than an industry benchmark (measured by our Time to Access Index). By working closely with healthcare systems, payers and partners to improve access to our solutions, we can have greater impact on patients and society – with access strategies integrated across our life cycle, from innovation and clinical development through to delivering for people who need our medicines. Every decision is made with an eye to how it affects those who put their trust in us: the people who rely on our medicines, families and caregivers, healthcare providers and payers, without losing sight of the financial performance that is needed for us to continue to innovate while rewarding our investors. This is a complex equation that requires the commitment of the whole organization to solve, as well as a constructive dialogue with decision makers in healthcare systems!

We recognize that in some healthcare systems, different kinds of coverage or high out-of-pocket costs may throw up further barriers to access, and we continuously look to find solutions and offer options like patient support and patient assistance programs to enable people who need our medicines to access them. Last year, we supported over 95,000 patients in the U.S. alone through these patient assistance programs.

Expanding access in low and middle-income geographies

Out of the 36 countries where ��ֳ� is present, eight are classified as low- and middle-income countries, where our access initiatives are tailored to the specific status of their healthcare system. 2022 brought the launch of our first social business pilot in Mumbai, India – where an estimated 144,000 people are living with epilepsy, and where persistent diagnostic and treatment gaps exist linked to awareness, healthcare capacity and medicine availability. Working together with local organizations and practitioners, health camps regularly take place directly in the community. Here, patients have easier access to diagnosis tools, and can benefit from tele-counseling services, home delivery of medicines, and discounted anti-seizure medications. The approach is set to serve as a social business model for improving epilepsy care in underserved communities in other geographies, and we plan to double activities in Mumbai through 2023.

Our philanthropic approach through the ��ֳ� Innovation for Health Equity Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, complements our social business efforts, with a particular focus on health system strengthening and improving epilepsy care in underserved populations. This includes supporting the relationship between the University of Ghent and the University of Rwanda to train health professionals, so more communities can have access to qualified neurological care. A new program to train physicians as neurologists welcomed its first cohort of physicians in 2022, with the aim of training 16 neurologists in the next five years.

Improving health equity among diverse groups

Health equity is also about deepening our local connections in the communities where we operate. This starts with understanding how diverse patient groups experience care and treatment, to better understand where social determinants of health may have exacerbated health inequities among historically underserved communities and define targeted approaches. In 2022, we continued to invest in social research and expanded work with patients in the Hispanic community in the U.S. with a pilot on epilepsy care. You can learn more about these efforts, as well as our U.S. pricing and access in our latest U.S. Sustainable Access and Pricing Transparency Report, published alongside the Integrated Annual Report.

Assessing how to move sustainable access even further

In 2022, we launched a new Sustainable Access Framework to guide our planning and execution to deliver better access to our solutions for people who need them, now and into the future. Our teams are trained to ask questions, ranging from which barriers are currently preventing patients from accessing the care they need, to how the existing health ecosystem infrastructure and funding mechanisms may impact on feasibility of solutions and spread these insights into the organization so that they can be acted upon. This in-depth understanding of existing barriers should improve the dialogue with local stakeholders to create innovate pathways and improve access in a way which is viable for society, our shareholders and ��ֳ�.

Every day, all of us at ��ֳ� work to honour our commitment to deliver moments that matter for people impacted by severe diseases, and to create sustainable value, now and into the future. Guided by impactful partnerships, a legacy of more than 90 years of scientific excellence and pioneering research, and a relentless drive to launch innovative medicines, we can look towards the future with confidence. Today, we are proud to be on that journey together, and to be progressing on our commitment to ensuring equitable access to medicines, now and into the future.

To learn more about how we are delivering strong financial and extra-financial results for all our stakeholders, check out the ��ֳ� Integrated Annual Report 2022.

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integrated annual report sustainability Access health equity ��ֳ� Community Health Fund Sustainable Access and Pricing Transparency Report

Comment:

Posted by Wolfgang Noack, 13 March 2023

Hi ucb.com owner, Your posts are always insightful and valuable.

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Broadening global access to epilepsy treatment: an update from Rwanda

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