Access Equals Hope
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December 1 has been designated as Worlds AIDS Day. Wlodek Kubiak, M.D., has been with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies since 1991. He is Area Managing Director, Janssen-Cilag NEN (New Europe North). |
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December 1 has been designated as Worlds AIDS Day. Wlodek Kubiak, M.D., has been with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies since 1991. He is Area Managing Director, Janssen-Cilag NEN (New Europe North). |
December 1 has been designated as Worlds AIDS Day. Wlodek Kubiak, M.D., has been with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies since 1991. He is Area Managing Director, Janssen-Cilag NEN (New Europe North).
As a physician, I recognize the profound ability of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies to improve and save lives by providing patients access to advanced medicines. Nowhere is this clearer than in the Company’s response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the Global Access Program.
In 2005, I was selected to lead the program, which was Johnson & Johnson’s first foray into global access to medicines for HIV/AIDS. When Chairman Bill Weldon laid out his vision for the role of Johnson & Johnson role in the HIV/AIDS field through the Pathways project, it was apparent that the Company was committed to patients from the poorest regions of the world for the long haul. I was eager to add my experience from the Janssen-Cilag organization and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Asia) to the effort. Tibotec Pharmaceuticals is a leader in the development of novel antiretroviral (ARV) treatments. The access program’s first task - long before Tibotec’s first ARV, PREZISTA® (darunavir), was even on the market - was to determine how to ensure that patients in resource-poor countries who need our medicines can have access, no matter who they are or where they live.
ARVs are the front line of treatment in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They provide hope to countless people around the world who otherwise have no chance of survival. However, ARVs are not a cure. People receiving ARV treatment today will need it for the rest of their lives. Regimens fail and new, innovative treatments are desperately needed. It is a formidable challenge.
Our Credo is present in every aspect of the access program. To date, its primary focus is sub-Saharan Africa — the region most affected by the AIDS epidemic. There the program works through a partner to register Tibotec medicines, create supply chains, work with medical providers on professional education and provide access to PREZISTA and soon INTELENCE™ (etravirine). Beyond sub-Saharan Africa, the company works with local health authorities on regulatory approval and inclusion in the National AIDS program and/or HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines and to provide a sustainable supply of our medicines to patients in need.
Commitment to the highest quality and greatest affordability of our drugs led to partnerships with generic manufacturers to help the program provide access to PREZISTA in the world’s most affected regions. A dedicated global team has worked on registration of Tibotec’s HIV/AIDS medicines in countries across Asia, Latin America, New Europe and sub-Saharan Africa and in the most remote areas of the world. Recently, the torch has been passed to a new access program leader, whose experience in the world of global health I know will help the company as it continues to expand access to existing medicines and develop new medicines for people in least developed countries.
I am proud to say that Johnson & Johnson has gone far beyond what was simply required to meet the first wave of demand for our HIV/AIDS medicines. With Our Credo as our guide, we are working today for long-term and sustainable access for patients.
I am thrilled to have been part of something that truly exemplifies Our Credo commitment to patients and communities and to Johnson & Johnson’s unique value-based decision-making. It is a rewarding experience to be part of an effort that will benefit patients for many years to come.
For more information
Our Credo Values
Tibotec
Tibotec Global Access Program
World AIDS Day 2010
Quality AIDS Care in Africa
JNJ health channel on YouTube®