Takeda Healthcare Philippines releases Access to Medicines Summit Catalogue, identifies key areas to improve access to healthcare.

 

Biopharmaceutical leader Takeda Healthcare Philippines Inc. (“Takeda Philippines”), together with its partners, recently released a Catalogue of Partnership Opportunities as part of its commitment to support the government in strengthening the Philippine healthcare system. Developed with insights and expertise gathered from their Access to Medicines summit held last October 11-12, 2022, in Manila, Philippines, the catalogue aims to provide various stakeholders ideas on possible collaborations between public and private entities, and opportunities to improve access to medicines for Filipinos.

 

The Access to Medicines Summit 2022 themed "Onward to a Transformed Healthcare System by 2030," brought together a diverse range of stakeholders guided by the vision for a sustained access to quality and affordable medicines and vaccines and reduced out-of-pocket health spending aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 3.8 and the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act.

 

Based on data from state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in 2022, Filipinos still shoulder out-of-pocket expenditure ranging from 34 to 44.7 percent¹.  The elderly, women, rural and poor Filipinos are more likely to spend more.

 

"The Catalogue of Partnership Opportunities is an invaluable resource for stakeholders from different sectors, advocating for collaboration and innovation,” Loreann Villanueva, Country Manager of Takeda Healthcare Philippines shared. “At Takeda Healthcare Philippines, we believe in the power of partnerships to improve access to medicines and enhance the overall health and well-being of Filipinos. Ensuring that quality healthcare services reach every individual in the country requires collective efforts from the public and private sectors. In the area of cancer management, for example, we have made efforts to implement unique patient assistance programs that consider the patient’s capacity to pay, in collaboration with their healthcare providers. This allows us to provide Filipino patients with broader access to innovative therapies for blood cancers such as lymphoma and multiple myeloma."

 

The Catalogue of Partnership Opportunities encapsulates the combined aspirations, success stories and insights shared by the attendees of the summit. It serves as a comprehensive resource that captures the ideas of stakeholders who were physically present at the event, as well as those whose perspectives were represented by their organizations.

 

“The health of our country is not just about being free of certain illnesses alone, but it’s about total health services and wellness, and improved quality of life,” Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government shared. Abalos highlighted the importance of working with the Local Government Units to improve access to medicines and achieve universal healthcare in the country.

 

“This partnership helps to identify major and critical barriers to medicine access,” Val Ulep, Senior Research Fellow of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said. “Through this collaboration, we are also able to come up with innovative ways on how to overcome these setbacks.”

 

The catalogue identified eight key areas for partnership opportunities: access programs, capacity building, data management, digitalization, health information management and communication, policy and governance, supply chain management, and sustainable health financing.

 

“The goal is to make the catalogue accessible to all and raise awareness about the multitude of partnership opportunities available to drive the transformation of the Philippine healthcare system by 2030. We believe that the best way to ensure patients have timely access to medicines is by building trusted, effective and lasting local partnerships. By strengthening health systems together, we can better support the patient journey through health promotion and prevention, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care,” added Villanueva.

 

While current health-related interventions and programs are in place, the catalogue highlights the untapped potential for collaboration that can further enhance access to medicines and other health technologies. Anchored by Takeda’s patient-first approach with their partners collectively, they aspire to combine resources, expertise, responsibilities, leadership, and coordination to address access barriers and strengthen local standards of care.

 

The Access to Medicines Summit 2022 participants includes representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Trade, and Industry, Department of the Interior and Local Government, healthcare professional societies, patient organizations, academia, financing institutions, NGOs and more. The summit is also in collaboration with RiseAboveNow Business Consulting as co-convenor and technical partner.

 

Read the Access to Medicines White Paper to learn more about the multi-stakeholder partnership and how it aims to improve medicine access  in the Philippines.

 

About Takeda

Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Together with our partners, we aim to improve the patient experience and advance a new frontier of treatment options through our dynamic and diverse pipeline. As a leading values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, we are guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Our employees in approximately 80 countries and regions are driven by our purpose and are grounded in the values that have defined us for more than two centuries.

Takeda Healthcare Philippines, Inc. (THPI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Founded in 1968, THPI aims to broaden patient access to treatment across the country through sustainable access programs enabling affordable and integrated access solutions for disease areas such as oncology, gastroenterology, rare diseases & vaccines and by strengthening the healthcare system guided by our commitment to Patients, our People and the Planet.

For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.

Takeda Healthcare Philippines receives double recognition at the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards

 

Takeda Philippines Country Leadership Team (Seated from L to R) Sheryll Anne Corpuz, Estela del Rosario, Loreann Villanueva, Arabella Benito, Armi Grace Gonzales

(Standing From L to R) John Raymond Gulinao, Fatima Mangalindan, Rommel Velasco, Joy Althea Pabellon, Freddie Deinla

Takeda Philippines Healthcare, Inc. (“Takeda”), a leading pharmaceutical company committed to create better health for people and a brighter future for the world, has been recognized with two prestigious awards at the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) ceremony held in Cambodia.

 

The first award was given to Takeda's Access To Medicines: Patient Assistance Program (AtM Program) in the Health Promotion category. Rooted in the vision of broadening access to life-changing medicines and vaccines in underserved communities, the AtM Program utilizes an integrated and sustainable approach that mobilizes the collective efforts of all involved stakeholders.

 

Focusing on diseases with the highest unmet need such as cancer and rare diseases, Takeda strives to bring its innovative and high-quality medicines to patients in the Philippines who have limited access to healthcare services. Through this program, the company has successfully provided financial assistance to over 600 patients nationwide, ensuring they receive crucial treatments regardless of their capacity to pay.

 

The AtM Program involves multi-stakeholder collaboration to address the pain points in the patient’s journey in the areas of disease awareness, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate treatment, support, and care. Based on Takeda’s insights on Filipino patients, it takes them about 5 to 10 visits to different doctors before they are properly diagnosed. Thus, the “Spot Lymphoma, Stop Lymphoma” campaign was launched together with 5 major medical societies and 2 non-government organizations to educate patients. Takeda in partnership with Philippine Cancer Society (PCS) provided CD30 screening through 24 hospitals majority of which are located outside of the capital of Metro Manila so patients would have access to CD30 screening.

 

Aside from screening, a series of workshops with Philippine Pathologists in partnership with medical societies were done to increase the skills and confidence of pathologists in utilizing immunohistochemistry and ensure early and proper diagnosis. The cornerstone of Takeda’s access program in the country is the Patient Assistance Program (PAP). This unique and innovative affordability-based program enabled more than 600 patients regardless of their socio-economic class to access their treatment with Takeda’s target therapy at a price that is based on the patient’s financial capacity to pay.

 

Takeda also partnered with an NGO to provide a series of training to oncology nurses to enrich their capability in educating patients. They also provided a grant to the Cancer Care Registry and Research Philippines Foundation (CARE PH) to expand its cancer registry and research.

Finally, as a culmination of Takeda’s holistic initiatives in 2022, the Access to Medicines (ATM) Summit gathered 137 multi-sectoral stakeholders from 42 organizations for a 2-day meeting, and discussed how each can support healthcare strengthening in the Philippines. Takeda’s framework is to build sustainable capacity at every stage from diagnosis to ongoing patient support. To date, more than 1,700 pathologists, 6,997 oncology and 5,683 endoscopy nurses, 4 medical societies, and 7 NGOs and patient organizations have partnered with Takeda in these endeavors.

 

The second award recognized Takeda for its unwavering dedication to employee well-being and engagement in the Investment in People category. These programs aim to foster a healthy and collaborative working environment, enabling employees to thrive personally and professionally.

 

From L-R: Joanna Noor, Sheryll Corpuz, Dr. Felycette Gay Lapus, Dr. Arielle  Severino, and Caroline Ramira during the 2022 Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) Annual Convention.

Takeda's employee well-being and engagement programs encompass diverse wellness initiatives and engagement activities that encourage a robust and motivated workforce. From the Partnerships for Growth (PFG) mentoring program, Lunch and Learn sessions, to career development and energy management workshops, Takeda invests in its employees' growth and development. These engagement efforts cultivate open communication, collaborative relationships, and contribute to the company's talent development and retention strategies, resulting in sustained high engagement levels with an average of 92% in the last two years of the company’s annual engagement survey.

 

Takeda's dedication to its employees has also led to the prestigious Great Place to Work® certification for two consecutive years, as well as one of 2023 Philippines Best Workplaces. The company remains steadfast in ensuring its programs cater to the needs of its workforce, empowering them to flourish and reach their full potential.

 

"We are honored to receive these recognitions as it cements Takeda’s enduring commitment to serve communities as well as our employees," Loreann Villanueva, Country Manager of Takeda Healthcare Philippines Inc. said. "These awards inspire us to push the boundaries further, making a lasting difference to the Filipino community through an empowered and highly dedicated workforce."

 

AREA recognizes and honors deserving Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible business practices in the following categories: Green Leadership, Social Empowerment, Health Promotion, Investment in People, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership, Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Responsible Business Leadership.

 

Takeda Healthcare Philippines Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a global R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company. Its headquarters in Makati City are home to Takeda Philippines’ employees who all share the same passion, drive, and commitment towards delivering life-transforming treatments, and sustainable patient access programs.

 

To learn more about Takeda and its initiatives, please visit www.takeda.com.

 

About Takeda

Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Together with our partners, we aim to improve the patient experience and advance a new frontier of treatment options through our dynamic and diverse pipeline. As a leading values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, we are guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Our employees in approximately 80 countries and regions are driven by our purpose and are grounded in the values that have defined us for more than two centuries.

Takeda Healthcare Philippines, Inc. (THPI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Founded in 1968, THPI aims to broaden patient access to treatment across the country through sustainable access programs enabling affordable and integrated access solutions for disease areas such as oncology, gastroenterology, rare diseases & vaccines and by strengthening the healthcare system guided by our commitment to Patients, our People and the Planet.

For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.