Pharmaceutical company to launch cheaper drugs for chronic diseases in Kenya

NAIROBI: Kenyans will soon benefit from cheaper drugs to treat chronic diseases after a pharmaceutical company announced it would launch its products next month.

The portfolio called Norvatis Access, will include 15 medicines meant to treat chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and breast cancer. A single treatment case will cost Sh105 a month.

Novartis Access Pharmaceutical, which has other operations in the country, made the announcement recently in New York at an event that was attended by the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

The company also pointed out that the launch of Novartis Access will first be done in Kenya, then Ethiopia and Vietnam before being rolled out to other parts of the world with similar health challenges.

"Novartis's portfolio will be offered to governments and non-governmental organizations in low and low-middle-income countries. This programme takes a novel approach at addressing the rising cases of chronic diseases in parts of the world where people often have limited access to healthcare," said Joerg Reinhardt, the chairman of the Novartis Board in a statement.

The Novartis Access portfolio includes patented and generic medicines.