The Innovative Pharmaceutical Association South Africa (IPASA) is a voluntary association of leading international pharmaceutical companies dedicated to researching and developing novel medications, creating a sustainable environment for the industry to contribute to a patient-centered health system and bringing the benefits of breakthrough treatments to patients across South Africa.
Part of IPASA’s philosophy is one of collaboration with other role players in the healthcare sector to achieve maximum benefit from the latest discoveries and innovative technologies in the field of pharmaceuticals.
While IPASA is still in the spirit of Mandela Day and giving back within our sphere of influence, four of our members share how they are bringing innovation and quality to the fight against diabetes and cancer.
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” Nelson Mandela
Norvo Nordisk celebrates 100 years of Insulin
The discovery of insulin 100 years ago made it possible to treat diabetes. This year Novo Nordisk, the world's largest maker of insulin, joins the rest of the world in celebrating a century milestone of the existence of this life changing discovery.
While the disease remains a burden to millions, Novo Nordisk has made great strides towards discovering and developing ground-breaking medicines and devices for those suffering with all types of diabetes.
Novo Nordisk has produced up to 50% of the world’s insulin supply including one billion insulin pens. In addition, approximately 32 million people suffering with diabetes use Novo Nordisk products. Though the number of people that live with diabetes is growing at a shocking rate, the company has not spared any efforts in seeking holistic solutions to ensure successful treatments. Novo Nordisk has clinical trials in over 50 countries to date.
No child should die from diabetes
Novo Nordisk’s Changing Diabetes® in Children programme, launched in 2009, is aimed at ensuring that no child dies from diabetes. The initiative is expected to reach at least 100,000 vulnerable children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes by 2030. The programme has established 222 clinics across 14 low-income countries to ensure that more than 28,000 children with type 1 diabetes have access to medical care and life-saving treatments.
AstraZeneca’s Phakamisa Programme marks decade of raising cancer awareness in SA
More than 1,63 million South Africans have been reached through AstraZeneca’s Phakamisa Programme led by community healthcare workers to increase cancer awareness, facilitate early diagnosis and fast-track pathways to treatment.
Founded in 2010 to mitigate the increasing prevalence of cancer in South Africa, the programme has in recent months expanded through public and private partnerships with multiple healthcare stakeholders to improve the health outcomes for patients in South Africa.
The collaboration between community, civil society, government and private entities is focussed on improving breast and prostate cancer management in the public sector and specifically address early detection of disease, promotion of primary prevention and access to care.
AstraZeneca is a member of Business for Societal Impact, a global standard for measuring corporate community investment and philanthropy.
Novartis Access brings affordable treatments for key chronic diseases to patients in lower-income countries
Today, 70% of all deaths globally are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which are growing in lower middle-income countries where often patients in these countries are not receiving the medicine and care they need. Annually, 31 million people die from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and cancers in these countries, representing more than 80% of deaths from NCDs globally.
With the realisation that when it comes to chronic diseases, donations are important but not scalable enough to make a lasting impact, Norvartis launched the Novartis Access®, a programme which offers a portfolio of medicines addressing key non-communicable diseases (NCDs): cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer.
Watch the video below to find out more about NCD’s
The Novartis Access portfolio is offered as a basket to governments, NGOs and other institutional customers in lower-income countries. Depending on public subsidy levels, patients in participating countries may either receive Novartis Access medicines free of charge or purchase them at a low price to manage their chronic condition long-term.
The Novartis Access portfolio includes products from Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz selected based on three criteria: significant health needs, medical relevance, and lack of local access programmes. It aims to offer various treatment options, including well proven and standard first-line treatments, as well as some of the latest treatment choices. The programme has been running since September 2015.
Servier commits 50% of research and development budget to fighting cancer
Cancer is the second cause of mortality in the world, and it continues to rise. The World Health Organization estimates 22 million new cases per year over the next two decades. Given the magnitude of therapeutic needs in oncology, Servier is committed to making the fight against cancer a priority. Therefore, the Group is investing 50% of its R&D budget in this field as of 2020-2021.
Servier aims to become an innovative and renowned player in this field, by focusing on the development of treatments for cancers for which therapeutic needs are, for the most part, not yet covered and difficult to treat, such as gastrointestinal, haematological, pancreatic, or paediatric cancers.
Watch the video here about the commitment of Servier in oncology
The company is exploring two major areas: apoptosis and immuno-oncology. Apoptosis is a programmed cell death mechanism, which some cancer cells subvert. Therefore, Servier’s therapeutic strategy is to develop targeted molecules that restore the ability of cancer cells to die by apoptosis. Servier has developed an advanced pipeline of BCL-2 and MCL-1 inhibitors, which induce apoptosis in cancer cells and are being studied in ongoing preclinical and clinical research studies.
*Data as of May 2021