22.07.19
ABPI President: Collaboration key to getting new medicines to patients
Haseeb Ahmad, ABPI president and managing director UK, Ireland & Nordics, pharmaceuticals and country president UK of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, discusses the need for collaboration between the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry.
We are at a critical and unique point, where science, technology and data offer exciting opportunities to help us develop new medicines and ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients.
The pace of science in medicines development is faster than ever before.
As an industry we need to be collaborative and work with the NHS to ensure that new therapies can be adopted consistently and at pace.
We know that there can be differences in the use of new medicines in different countries, and between areas in the UK. But we are confident that both Government and NHS England are keen to work with us to help make sure the NHS is ready to make use of the most innovative treatments.
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If we are going to address the challenges of getting new medicines to patients we can’t afford to work in silos.
Working more effectively with the NHS at an earlier stage will help pave the way for new therapies such as cell and gene therapies and make sure that we both have the data we need to make new treatments possible.
Forming partnerships between NHS and industry is not without challenges. People in industry and the NHS have been frustrated in the past by the time taken to agree partnerships, address concerns about governance and, at times, overcome a cultural mistrust about working together.
But, commitments made recently by Government and NHS England have signalled their willingness to work with the pharmaceutical industry to get the best new medicines to patients as fast as possible.
This is a shortened version of Haseeb Ahmad’s article, produced for our online publication. Read the full article in the July/August edition of National Health Executive