- Attended by almost 600 participants across Asia Pacific from 200 patient organizations, APPIS 2021 marks the region-first Asia Pacific Patient Summit focused on building a program of multi-stakeholder engagements with patient organisations that will create sustained improvement and long-term change.
- Organised and funded by Novartis, APPIS will continue to support the capacity building of patient organisations through a series of modular training programs championed by the APPIS Steering Committee.
- Novartis also announced the launch of a survey that aims to understand the needs and capabilities of patient groups.
Singapore 5, March 2021 – Novartis APMA/AMACO launched its region-first Asia Pacific Patient Innovation Summit (APPIS). Themed, “Co-creating patient advocacy of the future”, the APPIS initiative aspires to explore a unique opportunity in capability building by establishing a strong partnership with the patient community to co-create and bring true value to patients and caregivers.
Held from 2-4 March 2021, the virtual plenary summit is hosted through an online video conferencing platform and features speakers and panelists from patient support groups, healthcare, government, academia and pharma. It will also feature virtual breakout hubs to reflect the diversity of healthcare systems and landscapes, and collectively, tackle the different issues and challenges across these countries.
Patient Organizations (POs) play an important role in the medicine lifecycle. Their provision of valuable patient insights allows healthcare system stakeholders such as regulators, payors and industry to make better decisions. Empowering POs to advocate for themselves and their member patients to propel care improvements and, ultimately, better health for people across the region is key to reshaping the industry.
The Novartis Commitment to Patients and Caregivers gives a clear mandate to work with the patient community to discover new ways to improve and extend people’s lives. Novartis is bringing the Commitment to life in this part of the world by providing educational opportunities through the collaborative partnership of APPIS.
Ms. Christine Fajardo, Head of Patient Engagement, Novartis Philippines, said “In 2019, we put our patient-centric commitment into action in Asia by co-organizing the 1st Asia Patient Innovation Summit (APIS), which gathered over 50 patient leaders and patient advocates from 11 countries. Held on June 25, 2019 at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Philippines, the Asia summit aimed to seek insights from the patient community in order to inform decision-making for the mutual benefit of patients and healthcare systems. The full 1st APIS Outcomes Report can be accessed at: https://www.asiapatientinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/APIS_Summary-Report-2019.pdf
Mr. Paul Mendoza, Philippine Representative to the APPIS Steering Committee, and head of Psoriasis Asia Pacific said, “We laud and fully support APPIS 2021 and its goal to support the capacity building of patient organizations in the region. During this time of the pandemic, the quality of care among patients has been severely impacted, including those with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. We are committed to empower our members, improve the quality of life of patients, raise awareness of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and cooperate with fellow stakeholders.” Mr. Mendoza is the President of Psoriasis Asia Pacific and the Regional Representative of the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA).
Ruth Kuguru, Head of Patient Engagement and Communications for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Novartis said, “We aim to bring to life our Commitment to Patients and Caregivers through strong partnerships with the patient community. We regard the patient community as valued partners, and only by working together can we improve outcomes for patients and change the practice of medicine.”
An initiative led by patient organizations for patient organizations
Organised and funded by Novartis, the APPIS initiative launched during the Summit is championed by a Steering Committee that drives the design and delivery of a continuing capability program. The new initiative, supported by modular training programs, is informed by data from a co-created capability needs assessment survey and by the insights and perspectives of the Steering Committee members.
Targeting patient communities across Asia Pacific, the Summit aims to set out a valuable blueprint for the future of patient engagement, encompassing strategic aspects of patient organization capabilities, such as funding, stakeholder partnership, and clinical trials engagement.
By ensuring patient organizations are better equipped to collaborate with stakeholders, the ongoing APPIS initiative will drive sustained improvement and change.
Mr. Paul Perez, President, Cancer Coalition Philippines said, “Patient empowerment has become a must in today's healthcare environment. Around the world, policymakers and public health authorities are implementing strategies to increase patient empowerment in order to get patients more involved in their health care.”
“APPIS is a very timely and important initiative that opens up a dialogue between various patient groups and key stakeholders . It promotes inclusive and active participation of patients and shows us how to ensure patients are at the heart of the health care system and fully involved in health research and clinical trials. Learning exchanges like this help build communities of practice, committed to #better care for all patients, everywhere,” said Ms. Carmen V. Auste, Senior Vice President of Cancer Coalition Philippines and CEO of Cancer Warriors Foundation.
About Novartis Global
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 105,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.
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