Concept Foundation has a unique competence and over 20 years experience in developing access-to-medicines programmes for drugs for reproductive health, and ensuring their availability to the public sector of lower and middle income countries at affordable prices. This competence is based on making quality medicines available through public-private partnerships with pharmaceutical companies in developing countries, and supporting systematic, coordinated product introduction in priority countries. 
   
Over the last decade, partnerships between public and private sector organizations have become a common mechanism for combating diseases of the poor in developing countries, and there are now various Product Development Partnerships (PDPs)  addressing the development of new vaccines, medicines, preventative therapies, diagnostics and insecticides. Several are now beginning to explore options for integrated solutions to introducing and ensuring utilization of the new products they have developed. For most PDPs, “access” refers to a coordinated set of activities needed to ensure that the products developed will ultimately have an equitable public health impact.

The challenges of ensuring that end-users will be able to access products are clearly recognized by the PDP community, and both PDPs and donors are actively involved in discussions on, and identifying the key components for the development of effective access strategies.

Working with an informal Steering Committee, Concept Foundation is assisting in the coordination of a series of meetings with PDPs and stakeholders on access to markets and management of Intellectual Property.

These meetings will build upon previous discussions on the roles and responsibilities of various actors in ensuring access to new products. The primary objective is to develop common strategies using the expertise available across the PDPs to improve performance, efficiency and use of resources; and, as a consequence, improve public health.

The 2010 meeting was held in July and explored the “Challenges for PDPs in ensuring equitable access to new health products in low income countries”. The summery, complete meeting report, background, discussion papers and presentations can be found at www.conceptfoundation.org/access.php

For further information about Concept’s work with PDPs on access to markets, please contact stefaniem@conceptfoundation.org