Improving access to healthcare

Life-changing innovation is only meaningful if it reaches those who need it. We put access at the core of our business, and consider it a key part of our commitment to improving patient outcomes. Our combined strengths in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals position us to play a decisive role along the patient’s journey. These strengths allow us to identify and address the root causes at both global, country and community levels that prevent access to innovative healthcare, no matter where people live.

There are many factors that can determine a patient’s access to a medicine. The provision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the level of health system infrastructure and capacity, including diagnosis and specialist care, and government investment in healthcare and innovation can all impact the extent to which patients can receive medicines that could help them. That is why we partner with health systems and healthcare organisations to support greater investment in healthcare and building optimal environments for the delivery of high quality care, including treatment innovation.

At Roche, we take a value-based approach to pricing of our medicines, that reflect the benefits they deliver to patients, their families, healthcare systems and society as a whole. Through this approach we aim to support access to our medicines for as many patients as possible today, while at the same time ensuring we are able to continue investing into highly complex and risky areas of drug development to bring about the innovations of tomorrow.

We recognise that there are unique healthcare needs and affordability challenges in countries with limited resources. When an additional level of price flexibility may support greater and sustainable access in low and lower middle income countries, Roche can consider the application of International Differential Pricing (IDP), which is a framework for aligning prices to a country’s GDP, as well as to the UN’s Human Development Index and public healthcare investment.

Now more than ever, it is important and urgent for both the private and public sectors to work together to build resilient and sustainable healthcare systems. We are accelerating our ongoing efforts in this area with our goal to double the number of patients being treated with our innovative therapies in low and lower middle income countries by the end of 2026, as well as our ambition to double patient access to novel, high-medical-value diagnostics to people around the world. 

By working in partnership with stakeholders across the healthcare spectrum – from governments and payers to non-governmental organisations, multilaterals, and insurance companies — we will continue to develop tailored solutions that help overcome the barriers and ensure rapid, broad and sustainable access, no matter where people live.