In a pharmaphorum podcast interview, Er-Kim’s, Cem Zorlular spoke with Nicole Raleigh about the challenges around addressing AMR and creating access to treatments globally.
At Er-Kim we focus on collaborating with industry partners in various markets to better understand the unmet need and work to fix the inequity of drug access outside of the U.S. As an important first step, pharmaceutical companies should rethink conventional business models and reassess their commercial approach into emerging markets so that a larger number of patients will be able to have access to life-saving treatments.
Fixing the inequity of access outside of the US is a key focus for Er-Kim, focussing on collaboration and partnership with leading biopharma to understand unmet needs – the humanitarian approach – but also how to translate those needs into a commercial, market opportunity. Zorlular explains that the gap is not necessarily pricing and access, but a local context unseen or unrecognised in the West.
Demand is driven by how much resistance is in these markets, of course, and that is high in CIS countries, which by and large are LMICs. These countries require a different launch model and partnership within the local context is crucial, as is considering the supply chain, also.
There needs to be a larger look at enablement, Zorlular says, to increase efficiency, as well as global cooperation to address the global problem of AMR.