Dear Friends of Medicines360 – Happy New Year!
2023 is already off to a roaring start and Medicines360 is excited to share the inaugural edition of “All Access,” our newly launched bulletin. With drug prices in the U.S. continuing to rise, breakthrough products and essential medications have become even more unaffordable, particularly for people without health insurance. As a result, there is ever-increasing interest among industry leaders, philanthropy, and others in how to improve access to medicines.
Designed to keep you informed of our activities, this quarterly publication will summarize milestones in our journey as a nonprofit pharma organization to close gaps in access and provide an informed perspective on solutions to improve the availability of critical medicines for women. Founded in 2009, Medicines360 has longevity as a leading nonprofit pharmaceutical organization. We develop medicines and devices that enable more women to get the medicines they need, while also advocating locally and at the federal level for transformative change.
The turning of each new year is often a time for personal and professional reflection. As I recount the past year and look forward to the agenda for the year ahead, we have much to celebrate – yet more to do as well. While 2022 continued to be colored by the challenges of navigating Covid-19, it was also filled with enormous heart, imagination, and ingenuity from our staff and leadership to create the conditions that enabled our work to flourish. 2022 US Highlights include:
- Strengthening our collaboration with the Population Council to develop a Dual Prevention Pill (DPP), a single pill that includes a combined hormonal contraceptive and pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP), preventing pregnancy and HIV infection.
- Expanding access to Liletta to 29 new FQHCs and reaching approximately 70,000 women in safety net clinics with our hormonal IUD, Liletta.
- Work towards achieving important new legislative action in support of nonprofit pharma.
- Launched commercial operations in Curae Pharma360, our for profit subsidiary dedicated to increasing access to generic medications.
- Launching our new website to more clearly convey the purpose of our work and the activities we’re undertaking.
This year, we are incredibly excited to consider new products for our pipeline, which will address the unmet health needs of women in the US and other countries. We are also taking bold steps to ensure that we meet the needs of women in low- and middle-income countries by collaborating with the Hormonal IUD Access Group and a number of Ministries of Health to increase the distribution of AVIBELA™. 2022 Global Highlights include:
- Registering our hormonal IUD Avibela® in Rwanda and Uganda; bringing total global registrations to seven (joining Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia).
- Working to secure additional manufacturing capacity to lower the cost of our hormonal IUD for low- and middle-income countries.
In closing, I offer sincere gratitude to the many partners, funders and supporters that make this important work possible. We hope you find this first edition of “All Access” both informative and inspiring. For more information or to inquire about ways we might partner, please visit our website at medicines360.org, or contact us via email at access@medicines360.org.
Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Tina Raine-Bennett
