Empower: access to medicine - working towards early access

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Pharmaceutical Access
• Medical Innovation

Background:

• The pharmaceutical industry faces challenges related to expensive and slow development of new medicines.
• Patient access to essential medicines is often hindered by systemic barriers.
• Advocacy groups play a crucial role in shaping health policy and promoting innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the establishment and strategies of Empower: Access to Medicine.
• To analyze the lobbying tactics employed to influence debate on medical innovation and drug accessibility.
• To assess the impact of the organization on government policy, specifically early access schemes.

Main Methods:

• Case study analysis of Empower: Access to Medicine's founding and campaign development.
• Examination of lobbying strategies and their evolution.
• Assessment of the organization's influence on government policy formulation.

Main Results:

• Empower: Access to Medicine was founded to address critical issues in medical innovation and patient access.
• The organization utilized specific lobbying tactics to foster debate and influence policy.
• A notable outcome was the influence on government's consideration and development of an early access scheme.

Conclusions:

• Advocacy and targeted lobbying can effectively influence health policy regarding pharmaceutical innovation and access.
• Empower: Access to Medicine demonstrated a successful model for addressing systemic barriers in medicine access.
• The development of early access schemes can be positively impacted by organized advocacy efforts.