SHIONOGI Group Global Health Access Policy Statement

SHIONOGI Groups’ (hereinafter called “SHIONOGI”) mission is to constantly strive to provide the best possible medicines to protect the health and well-being of people worldwide. Access to medicines is a significant challenge for much of the world and one that SHIONOGI takes very seriously. As a Japan-based company, SHIONOGI believes that effective partnerships with global organizations are essential to expanding reach and improving access.

 

SHIONOGI’s effort to improve access are focused in four following areas:

 

1. Developing innovative therapies to address unmet needs

SHIONOGI’s primary contribution to improving global health is through the creation of innovative medicines that deliver significant advances compared to the current standard of care. The core therapeutic areas for SHIONOGI are infectious diseases and disorders of the central nervous system; obtaining adequate treatment for both can be challenging, even in developed markets.

2. Promoting proper use of medicines

Improving disease awareness, rates of diagnosis and encouraging appropriate use of medicines through health education is an important element of SHIONOGI’s access efforts.  The growing problem of antibiotic resistance is a key concern for SHIONOGI and SHIONOGI is involved in global efforts to educate healthcare providers on stewardship of antibiotics.

3. Improving affordability for patients in need

In developing countries, access to innovative medicines is often hindered due to affordability. SHIONOGI considers the value and affordability of a medicines carefully and tailors the access strategy for each product to the dynamics of the country and healthcare system. SHIONOGI utilizes tools like patient assistant programs, product donations, and patent pools, where appropriate, to improve affordability. In addition, SHIONOGI intentionally does not file patents for its medications in many developing countries*. This allows other organizations to leverage SHIONOGI’s research in order to address the needs of patients in these selected markets.  

 

*Please refer SHIONOGI Group Intellectual Property Policy for the details.

4. Strengthening healthcare systems

Effective healthcare systems are critical to improving the well-being of the patients SHIONOGI aims to serve. SHIONOGI believes the best way to address complex healthcare infrastructure challenges is through targeted partnerships with on-the-ground organizations. 

 

(Established on 19 March 2018)

(Revised on 1 January 2022)

 

Please refer to Access to healthcare page for Shionogi's initiatives.