Novartis launches drug portfolio for low- and middle-income nations

Switzerland-based drug company Novartis AG recently launched Novartis Access - a group of 15 medicines that will be used to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, respiratory illnesses and breast cancer in countries whose populations are mostly low- and low-middle income.

The goal of the new portfolio, the first of its kind, is to make medication for these diseases more affordable and readily available. It will be available to governments, non-governmental organizations and other public-sector health care providers in low- and low-middle-income countries.

The cost for the medications is $1 per treatment per month.

It is estimated that 28 million people die each year in low- and middle-income nations as a result of chronic diseases, which translates to 75 percent of such deaths worldwide.

The Novartis Access portfolio includes both patented and generic Novartis medicines.

The medicines will first be offered in Kenya, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Over the next several years, the portfolio will be rolled out to 30 more countries, depending on demand.

Novartis officials anticipate the portfolio will be commercially sustainable over the long term and lead to continuous support in those regions where it is available.

Novartis launched Novartis Access in conjunction with the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 last week in New York, where the new Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. The goals are meant to end poverty and hunger, plus protect the planet and nurture peace.