In this time more than ever, our people are working around the clock to support those who are most vulnerable. The shipments came as a result of great cross-functional collaboration within Roche and with its partners.
Packs of antibiotics and batches of anaemia treatment were shipped to Poland and Ukraine with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO) and local distributors. The WHO and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine manage the distribution of those medicines to health facilities.
Antibiotics treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. Our donated antibiotics are included in the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines, a list that contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health system.
“Our donated medicines are important to help people who are injured as a result of hostilities in the territory of Ukraine,” explains Adriano Treve, Area Head Turkey, Russia, Iran, Central Eastern Europe, Central Asia & Indian Subcontinent at Roche. “Now, there are a large number of patients in Ukrainian hospitals, and they need timely and high-quality therapy, in particular, antibiotics provided by Roche.”
Apart from medicines we also donated tens of thousands of units for diabetes management. The distribution is managed by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The donation includes blood glucose monitoring systems and lancing devices.
It was a challenge to get those products safely into the country. The situation changed day by day and we were in permanent contact with multiple organisations. Finally, with the help of our distributor in Ukraine, we found a way to get the products safely into the country.
“We are committed to providing access to care to people with diabetes wherever they are. This donation would not have been possible without the unwavering efforts and courage of many employees, partners and collaborators,” said Pedro Gonçalves, Head of Global Commercial at Roche Diabetes Care.
Since the beginning of the war, it has been a priority to secure continued access to diabetes management solutions that are needed to manage health and prevent long-term complications.
The war in Ukraine has had a heavy human toll and has driven up the demand for blood and blood products dramatically. Teams in Diagnostics jumped into action early and organised one of the first Roche donations to the country.
Thousands of reagents and consumables for automatic testing of blood samples were delivered to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and distributed to 17 sites across the country to ensure patients have access to safe blood and blood products. These diagnostic tests can screen for the
Our teams remain in close contact with customers and humanitarian organisations and will continue to ensure that our critical medicines and diagnostics reach the people in Ukraine who need them.
In addition to all the donations, we’re also committed to ensuring that patients who are enrolled in clinical trials continue receiving the treatments and care. As the ongoing war is creating challenges for ongoing Roche-led clinical studies, it can be devastating to those enrolled because many patients can find it difficult to access care. Without continued access to treatment it also threatens the progress of treatment.
After navigating multiple challenges, Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) made their way from Kaiseraugst, Switzerland into Ukraine. The team, together with the support of our logistics partner SanaClis*, were able to ensure that medicines reached the depot in Kiev. “The situation was extremely dynamic” says Alexander Fetkovsky, CEO, Member of the Board, SanaClis. “Understanding the necessity and urgency to deliver within a relatively short time frame, we are happy that we have been able to arrange with the support of Slovak Authorities fast track corridor on the borders. It is our joint obligation to take care of those patients in clinical trials in Ukraine, especially today.”
Having these IMPs delivered into the country will help patients receive the necessary treatment on time. Our priority has been to ensure continuous care for patients, and the teams will continue to support the effort to get critical medicines into the country and help maintain the integrity of these ongoing clinical studies.
*Roche has a long term business partnership with SanaClis as the distribution provider for global studies in Ukraine for more than 10 years.
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