Sanofi, AC Health deal seen to benefit patients with non-communicable diseases

MANILA, Philippines — Global health care company Sanofi and Ayala Healthcare Holdings Incorporated (AC Health) on Tuesday inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in a bid to improve healthcare access for patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Philippines.

NCDs are illnesses that cannot be transmitted from one person to another, but kill 41 million people globally each year and account for 71% of all deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

The most common NCDs are cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, while others include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Lifestyle-related modifiable risk factors for NCDs include tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.

Sanofi singled out diabetes and hypertension as gaps in local health care.

Dr. Amal Makhloufi, Country Lead for Sanofi Philippines, said there are about 3.7 million diabetic Filipinos, a figure expected to double in the next 5 years. Of these, only 34% are diagnosed, 27% are treated and 11% are on insulin. Less than half of those treated are able to manage or control their disease.

The health professional said that hypertension is another leading health problem in the Philippines, with many Filipinos “unaware” of the implications of hypertension and that if left unmanaged can lead to complications like Chronic Kidney Disease.

“These patients require a multidisciplinary and holistic approach which goes beyond medicines. Access to medicine is only one part of the patient’s journey. They need proper education and understanding of their condition to help empower and give them confidence in managing their conditions,” Makhloufi said.

The partnership between Sanofi and AC Health seeks to address this by bringing the former’s treatment solutions (disease education, treatment options, holistic approach) to more people using the latter’s network.

Sanofi plans to achieve their goals using the three pillars of the partnership, namely:

• Primary Care capacity-building using their MDCorner platform to provide training modules to doctors
• Empowering patients through patient education
• Improving availability and accessibility of health solutions for lifestyle-related diseases

Patient support programs are expected to be piloted this year as soon as finalized between the partners. Enrollment into the programs will be based on the recommendations of one's attending doctor.

“I am equally excited about working with Sanofi to provide continuing education to our doctors and healthcare workers,” President and CEO of AC Health Paolo Borromeo said.

“While we have all been focused on COVID, it’s important to remember that other diseases, like diabetes and hypertension, have been long-standing challenges for our country. Our front liners have borne the brunt of this pandemic, and it’s important we continue to provide them support for COVID and our other existing health challenges.”