Pharmaceutical industry’s policy proposals set sights on non-communicable diseases
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Behind the scenes over the last ten years, the pharmaceutical industry has been going through some important changes in how it responds to the need for medicines and vaccines in developing countries. The AIDS epidemic in many developing countries was the tipping point and set the changes in motion. Now, the global health community faces a different, but just as challenging a task: to address the mounting threats of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases (collectively called “non-communicable diseases”, or NCDs). Today, the pharmaceutical industry is ready to respond to calls for action and will announce at the United Nations (UN) in New York a Framework for Action for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.