Patient group support

Staying in touch with changing needs is vital to our aim of making the most meaningful difference we can to patient health.

We talk continuously to physicians and patient groups and organisations to understand what they need and want. This includes working with, and supporting, patient groups and organisations who represent the particular demands of specific health issues, as well as discussing with healthcare professionals the broader range of disease challenges they and their patients face.

Our ongoing aim is to ensure that all of our relationships with patient groups and other healthcare organisations continue to be based on transparency, trust and a shared objective to improve the lives of patients.  Our new Global Community Support Policy, launched in January 2009 reinforces that commitment.

In line with the respective UK ABPI and Swedish pharmaceutical industry association (LIF) codes of practice requirement to do so, we make public all our relationships with patient groups in the UK (through our website, AstraZeneca.co.uk) and in Sweden (through LIF’s external website LIF.se).  In line with the requirements of the EFPIA code, we now also report which patient groups in Europe we support (see below).  

During 2008, in the absence of any external requirement to do so, AstraZeneca in the US disclosed their contributions to non-profit organisations in the US, including patient groups and other healthcare organisations, and their grants in support of independent medical education. Current information is available on our US website and this will be updated on a biannual basis.

We also collect and publish information about interactions between AstraZeneca’s global therapy area teams and patient groups (see below).

Beyond this, we are continuing to develop a global framework for consistent management and capture all of our support to patient groups and other healthcare organisations worldwide.  Completion of this work and publication of this information, including the nature of the relationship and the associated financial commitments, was planned for 2008 but the continued re-organisation and re-structuring within the Company during the year caused some delay.  However, we are now on track to start delivering this in 2009.

PATIENT GROUP SUPPORT - EUROPE

During 2008, AstraZeneca’s global therapy area teams supported the following patient groups:

Respiratory
Global Lung Cancer Coalition
Neuroscience
European Federatin of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness
American Psychiatric Association
World Federation of Mental Health
Breast Cancer
Europa Donna
Diabetes
International Diabetes Federation

Find out more about our support to Patient Groups in the UK, Sweden and the US.