The expo earlier this month at the second annual GRx+Biosims conference gave attendees the opportunity for dialogue with regulators, vendors and other stakeholders in the generic and biosimilars industry. Each participant offered a unique perspective, but only one group that appeared could claim to fill 1.1 million prescriptions during more than 487,000 encounters last year.
Dispensary of Hope, the sole nonprofit organization at the expo, was represented by Chief Supply Chain Officer Scott Cornwell and Industry Relations Manager Danielle Basile.
“We’re here because of the generic industry’s commitment to access,” Cornwell said.
The organization, an AAM associate member, is built on an entrepreneurial structure that allows it to deliver value to its members and to patients in more than 200 dispensing sites (chiefly charitable pharmacies, health centers and clinics) in 33 states. According to Cornwell, 95% of product donations come from AAM members.
“Relationships drive our work,” says Basile. “We’re the trusted intermediary between the manufacturers and health care sites in communities across the country.” From Alabama and Ohio to Texas and Tennessee (where the organization’s headquarters are located), pharmacists and health care professionals are able to provide medication to patients who otherwise couldn’t afford to start and continue the prescriptions to get and stay healthy.
In order to serve patients, Dispensary of Hope commits to serving its manufacturing partners through three overlapping functions:
- A supply-chain solution, a wholesale distribution outlet that enables strategic product donations A channel for internal communications, helping pharmaceutical manufacturers and associates to see the social impact of their charitable donations
- A one-stop medication assistance program for the generic industry. “Rather than each generic manufacturer having its own separate program for donating product to low income patients,” Cornwell says, “Dispensary of Hope is the medication assistance program supported by generic pharmaceutical companies.”
Leaders of AAM member companies recognize the power of this work. Dispensary of Hope allows them to focus on what they do best—manufacturing affordable high-quality medications.
“I’m proud to say that our company been one of the largest supporters of the Dispensary of Hope,” says Mylan CEO Heather Bresch. “We’ve given over 143 million doses across 140 different product lines.… The Dispensary of Hope is a bridge in the United States to ensure that medicines are getting into the hands of people that need them.”
Learn more about AAM associate members on our blog: How Our Associate Members Make the World Healthier
By Erica Klinger, AAM Marketing Director
