Sanofi partners with AC health to fight diabetes, hypertension
The Covid-19 pandemic, which necessitated various levels of community quarantines and lockdowns, forced many people to shy away from consulting their doctors or going to hospitals for fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus.
This led to the disruption in the treatment of many people, particularly those with lifestyle ailments such as diabetes and hypertension.
A partnership for innovative health solutions
This is the reason why Sanofi Philippines, which is part of global health-care brand Sanofi of France, partnered with Ayala healthcare holdings, inc. (AC health), to make innovative solutions for lifestyle diseases more accessible to Filipinos.
According to dr. Amal Makhloufi, Country lead for Sanofi Philippines, there are about 3.7 million diabetic Filipinos and this number is expected to double in the next five years. Among them, only 34 percent are diagnosed, 27 percent are treated, while only 11 percent are on insulin. Among those treated, less than 50 percent are able to manage or control their disease.
hypertension is another major health problem globally and in the country, she said. out of 12 million Filipinos, she said half are unaware of the implications of hypertension, and that if left unmanaged, can lead to complications such as Chronic Kidney disease or CKD.
“These patients require a multidisciplinary and holistic approach which goes beyond medicines. Access to medicines 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.”
This is one of the things that this partnership with AC health addresses, dr. Makhloufi emphasized. “With this partnership, Sanofi is able to bring their treatment solutions—from disease education, treatment options, and holistic approach—to more people using AC health’s vast network. The collaboration seeks to improve the management of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension.”
Accessible health-care services
With regard to making the programs accessible to more Filipinos, dr. Makhloufi said the pandemic not ontly accelerated the distress and vulnerability of people with hypertension and diabetes; it also accelerated the use of the digital platform.
“We believe the health-care system of the future will be more innovative and more liberating with new technologies, especially using telemedicine, online pharmacies and online education, will make these programs available for everyone. We believe health is for all, and Filipinos deserve to get better quality health care everywhere, every time,” she said.
Paolo Borromeo, President and Ceo of AC health, affirmed dr. Makhloufi’s observation. “We are firm believers in affordable health care. our clinics and pharmacies are located in densely populated areas and communities, and we also believe everyone deserves access to better and affordable health-care services. our Family Care clinics as well as our online solutions, including Sanofi’s online solutions, we believe we can cater to the needs of the people, both in the communities and broader countryside.”
Borromeo is also equally excited about working with Sanofi to provide continuing education to doctors and healthcare workers. “While we have all been focused on Covid-19, it’s important to remember that other diseases, like diabetes and hypertension, have been long-standing challenges for our country. our frontliners have borne the brunt of this pandemic, and it’s important we continue to provide them support for Covid-19 and our other existing health challenges.”
Under the partnership, Sanofi aims to achieve their goals using these three pillars—primary care capacity-building using their platform, Mdcorner.com.ph to provide readily available and accessible training modules to doctors; empowering patients with an integrated and innovative holistic care approach through patient education, leveraging on science and technology to achieve better health outcomes and the prevention of complications; and, improving availability and accessibility of these innovative health solutions for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
her excellency, Michèle Boccoz, Ambassador of France to the Philippines and a former Assistant director-general, director-general’s envoy for Multilateral Affairs at the World health organization in Geneva, said that the strong partnership between Sanofi and AC health comes at a very crucial moment. “it will help catalyze and develop innovative models while harnessing the power of digital to help improve access to holistic healthcare, especially amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic.”
Fernando Zobel de Ayala, President and Chief operating officer of Ayala Corp., said they have had several partnerships with many French companies for several projects, and echoed that Filipinos deserve much better health care. “our vision at AC health is to build affordable, accessible healthcare services to more Filipinos. if there’s one thing we learned in this pandemic, it is the power of collaboration between the private sector, the national government, and specifically the many health-care companies and institutions. These types of partnerships are powerful because they create value not only for the partners but also for patients and our communities.”
The launch of patient support programs for lifestyle diseases like diabetes are expected to be piloted this year. enrolment into the programs will be based on attending doctor’s recommendations.