Ensuring access to MMV's medicines

The challenges encountered in our work to assure access to antimalarials are numerous. They range from the frequency of artemisinin- based combination therapy (ACT) stock-outs in the public sector, due to weak procurement and distribution systems; the need to displace unaffordable, unsafe or untested drugs in the private sector; to the lack of market information to measure the impact of new therapies. With the launch of Coartem ® Dispersible in 2009 and two additional product launches expected in 2010 (Eurartesim™) and 2011 (Pyramax ® ), MMV's Access team is working with pharmaceutical partners, national health officials, and international funders and policy makers to assure broad access to these much-needed drugs. MMV's Access work is based on a foundation of market intelligence and conducted in the spirit of our partnership model alongside national and international players. Information gleaned from numerous in-country sources is channelled into three main activities: supporting the adoption of effective antimalarials; extending their reach through public and private partners; and feeding information back from the field to shape MMV's future R&D agenda. With our partners, MMV works to do all that is required to achieve these goals so that ultimately new medicines reach endemic countries as quickly as possible and start saving lives. Specifically, this work involves: