Patient organisations, also referred to as patient groups, are important partners for Roche. Patient organisations help people by providing information about living with their conditions, raise awareness about screening and prevention, and offer a number of support tools. They provide a forum for people to meet each other, share experiences and provide on-going support for patients, their relatives and friends. Additionally, as patient organisations represent patient views on issues surrounding healthcare, they help shape the current and future healthcare environment by making their collective voices heard.
In turn, as the voice of the patient, these organisations help us understand what it is like to live with a disease, the challenges facing patients and their families and the role that diagnostics and treatments play in managing disease. This guides us in developing new medicines and in our clinical trial programmes, in seeking regulatory and reimbursement approvals, and providing patient support. Patient organisations also provide insight into how we can assist healthcare professionals in helping them support their patients.
We work with a wide range of patient organisations covering medical conditions such as cancer, viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, metabolic diseases like diabetes and central nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer’s. We also work together with organisations that, rather than focusing on a specific condition, strive to respond to the broad needs of patients.
We share a common interest in helping patients manage their disease, including receiving timely and equitable access to treatment.