Medications still beyond reach of the poor

10 March 2008 20:16  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--Malarial treatments and other medications are still out of the reach of the patients in the developing world, an industry source said on Monday.

“In the past five years, there’s been a tenfold increase in funding that’s going into malaria treatment and prevention. But there is still a lot of progress that has to be made,” said Wendy Woods, partner and managing director, The Boston Consulting Group.

Woods was speaking at DCAT Week, a conference being held in New York City.

“This is a problem of uptake and creating access," Woods said. "Just because the drug is less expensive doesn’t mean that the supply chain hurdles and the access hurdles are solved.”

However, some progress has been made, according to Woods.

Increased funding has helped treat malaria and other diseases in the developing world, she said.

Death rates from malaria have fallen by 50% in Ethiopia and 33% in Zambia.

“That’s real progress in just the last couple of years, but we still have a long way to go,” Woods said.

By: Feliza Mirasol
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly