Developing countries

The world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) suffer the highest levels of disease and have the weakest healthcare systems. Limited access to medicines and diagnostics is just one part of the problem; there is a critical lack of even the most basic healthcare. Many face a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, hospitals and laboratories, as well as low levels of understanding of the causes, prevention and treatment of disease.

We aim to provide sustainable solutions by using our expertise and resources to support improvements to healthcare that will bring lasting and continued benefits in these countries based on:

• Sustainable patent and pricing policies
• R&D into diseases with unmet medical needs
• Education, training, knowledge-transfer and capacity building
• Partnerships with governments, NGOs and others

Sustainable patent and pricing policies

We have developed patent and pricing policies that have significantly improved access to all our products, especially HIV medicines, in the poorer countries that are home to around 87% of all people living with HIV/AIDS.  

We do not file for new patents, nor enforce exisiting patents, on any Roche medicines, for any disease, in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) or in Low Income Countries (LICs). In addition, we do not file or enforce patents for any antiretroviral HIV medicines in the sub-Saharan African (sSA) countries. We supply our protease inhibitors Invirase (saquinavir) and Viracept (nelfinavir) at no-profit prices to the LDCs and all of sSA. Through our AmpliCare programme we offer our diagnostic HIV and MTB tests at substantially reduced prices to increase access to these tools that enable more efficient use of resources.  Read more

R & D into diseases with unmet medical needs

Our contribution towards global health is our investment in the research discovery, development and commercialisation of medically differentiated medicines to help treat serious and life-threatening diseases, where-ever there is unmet medical need and where we have expertise and experience.  Our R&D focuses across 5 disease areas – Oncology, Virology, Inflammation, Metabolism and CNS – all of global epidemic proportions.  If in the course of our research, discoveries are made which could have application in areas where we do not participate, we consider offering the molecule to a non-profit organisation for the benefit of society. Similarly, where possible, we utilise our current initiatives to support other organisations’ efforts to investigate potential solutions towards neglected diseases.  

We have a long-standing role in the provision of treatment for significantly-neglected diseases, with nineteen medicines developed by Roche now deemed essential medicines by the WHO.    Read more

Education, training, knowledge-transfer and capacity building

Innovative ppricing strategies alone are not enough to solve crises such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. There are many other hurdles to be overcome to increase access to medicines in poorer countries, such as the lack of functioning healthcare systems and trained health professionals. Hence, Roche has established a variety of different programmes to tackle issues such as basic infrastructure, education and medical training.  

Partnerships with governments, NGOs and others

We focus on developing partnerships with governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private companies and local groups to find sustainable solutions in these countries. Our aim is to establish programmes that raise awareness, train healthcare providers and improve infrastructure. This approach increases the capabilities of healthcare systems so they can start to sustainably meet patient needs. This increases access to healthcare to those most in need and develops new markets for our products and services in the longer term.  In addition, our combined expertise in diagnostics and therapeutics means we can help poor countries make the most of their limited resources.     

Examples of our programmes include:

• Through AmpliCare, Roche Diagnostics helps doctors in the world’s poorest countries to test and monitor patients with HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, along with training programmes
• The CARE Programme aims to make HIV/AIDS treatment sustainable by strengthening local health systems and training African healthcare workers
• Changing Diabetes in Children builds long-term solutions for sustainable diabetes care, including improved awareness, screening, access to treatment and blood glucose testing, as well as education and training for healthcare workers, patients and their families
• In partnership with the IAEA, the EDUCARE programme is establishing an on-line university, offering comprehensive training in cancer management for doctors in Africa
• Our collaboration with the Institute of OneWorld Health enables iOWH to screen compounds from the Roche library to identify potential new drugs for treating acute diarrhoea
• Working with the WHO, we have established a stockpile of our influenza drug Tamiflu for use in pandemic situations, along with a pandemic preparedness plan, and reduced pricing for LDCs
• The Technology Transfer Initiative is increasing the capacity to manufacture HIV/AIDS treatment in the most affected countries
• The Transnet-Phelophepa Healthcare Train provides much-needed basic health care and health education to communities in rural South Africa