What Does the Phrase Access to Medicine Mean to You?

What does the phrase “access to medicine” mean to you? Depending on where you live, what you do for a living, your ethnicity, age and even your gender, your answers to that question are likely quite different. For us, here at Mylan, our definition of access is making sure the medicine we make is actually getting into the hands of patients in the more than 165 countries and territories we serve.

That may sound like a simple concept, but serious barriers to access such as availability of supply, difficult logistics, policies that aren’t focused on helping patients and more problems still plague many areas of the world. This disparity can negatively affect not only individual health outcomes, but also the well-being of families, communities and nations.

That’s why we are more committed than ever to our goal of creating better health for a better world and doing so in a way that’s sustainable for all concerned. Today, I’m pleased to share our Global Social Responsibility 2018 Progress Report, which highlights some of the ways we are doing just that and helping to shape positive outcomes.

Whether we’re providing free hepatitis and HIV screenings in some of the world’s hardest hit regions, offering more affordable medicines to treat devastating diseases or working for policies that put the needs of patients first, we will continue to fight for sustainable solutions that improve global health for the long-term.

Given that circumstances and needs very broadly around the world, we know the complexity of the challenge. But as I’ve said before, we embrace this challenge, and we won’t stop innovating, collaborating, and relentlessly advocating for change until patients everywhere have access to the medicines they need.