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July 19, 2010

Novartis inaugurates renovated building facility, renews commitment to support Philippine progress

  • Novartis Healthcare Philippines formally inaugurated its renovated building facility in Makati City with key government officials, representatives from the diplomatic corps and top officials of Novartis Global in attendance.
  • The refurbished Novartis building manifests the company’s commitment to help promote progress in the Philippines through its key advocacies: improving access to health care and fostering research and development in the country.
  • Beneficiaries of the Novartis Oncology Access (NOA) and the Glivec (Imatinib mesylate) International Assistance (GIPAP) Programs expressed their gratitude to Novartis Healthcare Philippines during the inauguration through Ms. Kristine Lim, one of the more than 1,500 GIPAP & NOA Program beneficiaries in the country.

Novartis Healthcare Philippines formally inaugurated its renovated building facility in Makati City in a simple but meaningful ceremony attended by key government officials, representatives from the diplomatic corps and top officials of Novartis Global.

“The refurbished Novartis building manifests our company’s commitment to help promote progress in the Philippines through our key advocacies: improving access to health care and fostering research & development in the country,” said Mr. Eric van Oppens, President and CEO, Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

Renovation work on the 7-storey Asian Reinsurance Building located at the corner of Legaspi and Gamboa Streets, Legaspi Village was undertaken by RFN Construction and Development Corporation, and designed by Architect Felino Palafox, Jr. of Palafox & Associates. The refurbishment work included interior and exterior improvements of the 38-year old building.

Providing effective medicines to more Filipino patients
“Through our umbrella access program Kaagapay, Novartis has been actively implementing various access initiatives that benefit Filipino patients,” explained Ms. Christine F. Liwanag, Corporate Affairs & Market Access Director, Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

The DOH-Valsartan Access Program, a groundbreaking partnership between the Department of Health (DOH) and Novartis Philippines, provides low-income Filipino patients with access to an effective blood-pressure lowering medicine (Valsartan). To date, the Novartis Malaria Initiative has provided over 172,260 treatments at no profit of its highly effective malaria drug artemether/lumefantrine (Coartem®) to Filipino patients.

Since its inception in 2003, the GIPAP and later the Novartis Oncology Access (NOA) program has helped provide the breakthrough treatment imatinib (Glivec®) to over 1500 Filipino cancer patients. From 2006 to 2009, benefits provided by the NOA program to Filipino cancer patients are valued at over 3 billion pesos. During the inauguration, beneficiaries of the NOA Program expressed their gratitude to Novartis Healthcare Philippines through Ms. Kristine Lim, one of the over 1,500 program beneficiaries in the country. Ms. Lim, a 21-year-old Business Management graduate of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, thanked Novartis for helping her fight cancer. Diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) when she was 7 years old, Ms. Lim will celebrate her 22nd birthday next month.

Enhancing country’s R&D capabilities
“Novartis has been working with the government to develop local scientists and enhance the country’s potential to be a research and development hub in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Dr. Francis M. Domingo, Chief Scientific Officer, Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

Novartis has an ongoing partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in holding local BioCamps, which are annual biotechnology workshops for young, promising Filipino scientists and researchers. At the end of each Local BioCamp, two outstanding Filipino students are selected to represent the country in the prestigious International BioCamp.

According to Domingo, the Philippines is part of the Novartis International Clinical Research Organization, which conducts clinical trials for new medicines. After only over a year of operations, Novartis has allocated to the Philippines 16 clinical trial projects with over 40 sites.

“With the Philippines increasingly becoming an R&D hub, the quality of science and technology in the country would be enhanced and access to innovative medicines would further improve,” Domingo noted.

Novartis through the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) is collaborating with the DOST in information exchange and knowledge transfer among foreign and local scientists in the area of tropical diseases such as dengue, tuberculosis and malaria. On September 2009, the NITD and Novartis Philippines in collaboration with the DOH, DOST and infectious disease organizations successfully held the 1st International Dengue Symposium in Manila.

Diversified portfolio best meets patient needs
Novartis has a diversified portfolio that best meets the varied and often complex needs of patients and societies. The company’s portfolio includes pharmaceuticals, vaccines and diagnostics, over-the-counter (OTC) and ophthalmic (eye care) products, animal health products, and its world-renowned generics arm Sandoz. Novartis is the only pharmaceutical company with leading positions in these areas of healthcare. All these Novartis divisions are housed in its renovated building facility.

Sandoz Philippines is headed by Mr. David Willis, Novartis Philippines Consumer Health – OTC by Mr. Joe O’Neill, and Novartis Philippines Animal Health by Mr. Jeffrey M. Dimaranan.

Cancer survivors express gratitude to Novartis during company’s building inauguration Beneficiaries of the the Glivec (Imatinib mesylate) International Assistance (GIPAP) and Novartis Oncology Access (NOA) Programs expressed their gratitude to Novartis Healthcare Philippines during the recent inauguration of the company’s refurbished building facility in Makati City. Ms. Kristine Lim (extreme right), one of the over 1,500 GIPAP & NOA Program beneficiaries in the country, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) when she was 7 years old. She will celebrate her 22nd birthday next month. The NOA Program helps qualified Filipino patients gain access to the breakthrough Novartis anti-cancer drug imatinib. Photo shows Novartis Asia Pacific Head Mr. Rainer Boehm (2nd from left) and Novartis Healthcare Philippines President and CEO Mr. Eric van Oppens (center) holding a framed artwork given by program beneficiaries and their families. Flanking them are Mr. Rod Padua (extreme left), President of the Touched By Max Foundation (TMF), TMF Coordinator Ms. Nelia Medina (2nd from right) and Ms. Lim. Right inset shows the newly renovated Novartis Building Facility.

About Novartis
Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2009, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 44.3 billion, while approximately USD 7.5 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 100,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.