Bristol Myers Squibb Promotes Health Equity with 100 Percent of Marketed Products Now Supported by Access Plans
10-year strategy to advance access to our innovative treatments and help patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
At BMS, our vision to transform patients’ lives through science extends to all patients. That is why we have a long-standing commitment to promote health equity and help people in underserved communities access the care and medicines they need.
We built on this commitment with a 10-year strategy to help patients in LMICs (low- and middle-income countries) live healthier lives, called ASPIRE, which stands for Accessibility, Sustainability, Patient-centric, Impact, Responsibility and Equity. ASPIRE will help us achieve our goal to reach more than 208,000 patients in LMICs by 2033. The effort reflects our unwavering focus on operating responsibly and sustainably.
As part of ASPIRE, BMS is developing tailored strategies to increase affordability and availability of its medicines in LMICs. Our work to help ensure patients who need our potentially life-saving medicines can access them begins by ensuring that 100 percent of our marketed products are supported by access plans.
Today, we have defined access pathways for every country in which our medicines may be available to patients and have achieved our goal of 100 percent of our marketed products be supported by access plans.
The imbalance in healthcare access is just one of the systemic barriers faced by the world’s most vulnerable populations, where worse health outcomes and lack of economic opportunities keep individuals and entire communities from achieving their full potential.
BMS is leading the way for access to immuno-oncology therapies in LMICs by collaborating with the Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM) Coalition. BMS joined the ATOM Coalition as a founding supporter at its launch in 2022. Working with the ATOM Coalition and their partners, BMS will make Opdivo™ (nivolumab) available via a safe, scalable and sustainable access model in select countries including Pakistan, Rwanda and Zambia while working to develop an integrated pathway that can expand access in multiple LMICs by 2026.
By investing in solutions that reduce quality-of-care gaps and strengthen health systems, BMS will help drive equitable access to innovative medicines to patients around the world, regardless of where patients live. Enabling timely access to innovative medicines in LMICs is part of BMS’ commitment to health equity globally and our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.
To learn more, read our press release.
