PharmaAfrica Announces Co-Chairs for PharmaAfrica Market Access Conference to be Held 24 - 25 September 2015 in London, United Kingdom

LONDON, May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

PharmaAfrica is pleased to announce that Dr. Vivek Muthu, Chair, Economist Intelligence Unit Healthcare and Dr. Lenias Hwenda, Founder, Medicines for Africa, will serve as Co-chairs for the upcoming PharmaAfrica Market Access Conference to be held 24 - 25 September 2015 at the Grange Holborn Hotel, London.

"We're extremely fortunate that two such notable figures in the health space have agreed to provide their knowledge and experience in public health and access to medicines to help us plan an outstanding program," remarked Miles Mudzviti, Founder & CEO, PharmaAfrica.

PharmaAfrica Market Access Conference is a must attend event that provides a platform for stakeholders committed to exploring the challenges, and opportunities in the market and patient access landscape in Africa to convene, share views and network with peers.  It is set to bring together global leaders from pharmaceutical companies, patient associations, non-profit organisations, policy makers and experts to provide insight and enhance multi-stakeholder cooperation on issues relating to expanding access to quality, affordable medicines.

The theme, 'Developing and optimizing market and patient access opportunities', was selected as the conference theme to focus on the challenges in expanding access as well as the innovative strategies required to face them in this fast growing and evolving region

Dr. Muthu said, "In Africa, as in other emerging economies, we see huge need and accelerating demand for healthcare. Emerging policy themes include moves towards systematised and planned healthcare infrastructure, universal health coverage, equitable access, value and cost-efficiency. This represents an opportunity for industry, governments and NGOs to work together to dramatically improve the lives of millions. But delivering on this opportunity is a complex task, and one which must recognise both the differences and the similarities among different African nations, in terms of health needs, political and economic reality and policy and regulatory environments. Critically, we need to bring together stakeholders involved in supply, demand, regulation and policy, to explore, understand and shape the development of durable, optimal, high value healthcare across the continent. This conference does exactly that: it is a privilege to be involved and I look forward to our discussions."

 Vivek Muthu worked as a doctor in the UK National Health Service, including London's Queen Square, the Hammersmith and Oxford University hospitals, before joining the British Medical Journal, where he helped to develop and lead a team examining the clinical value of drugs and devices. Dr Muthu then went on to found Bazian, a company dedicated to developing and servicing the needs of the emerging paradigm of value-based health internationally. Following its acquisition by The Economist Group, Bazian lies at the heart of the Economist Intelligence Unit's value-based healthcare business, for which Dr Muthu took overall leadership and strategic responsibility. After launching EIU Healthcare, he has now taken up a non-executive advisory role as Chair of the business. In the past, he has additionally served as a healthcare consultant to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and sits on the steering panels for a number of UK-based initiatives in value-based health. 

Dr. Hwenda said, "I am pleased that this year's theme will focus on optimising patient access opportunities and will bring together stakeholders from both the private and public sector to share ideas and best practices on how best to achieve this. The issue is both pertinent and timely."

Trained originally as an immunologist, Lenias Hwenda is an interdisciplinary professional with expertise in access to medicines, global health policy, the WHO, and UNAIDS governance processes. Her professional experience spans more than 10 years in academia, public, and private sectors. Her global policy work with African country missions to the United Nations in Geneva involved formulating and conducting high-level policy negotiations and advising senior delegates. Lenias is the Founder of Medicines for Africa, an organization, which focuses on bringing together partners from across sectors to find sustainable ways of improving access to medicines in African countries. She has published her policy and scientific work in peer-reviewed journals in a range of areas that include clinical trials, poor access to medicines, pandemic influenza preparedness, intellectual property issues in global health, counterfeited medical products, health security, and health foreign policy.

For more information about the PharmaAfrica Market Access Conference, please visit the website http://marketaccess.pharmaafrica.com/

About PharmaAfrica 

PharmaAfrica's mission is to provide a platform to enable the growth of a quality African pharmaceutical industry that competitively contributes to the healthcare needs of Africans and is recognized in the global pharma arena for quality and innovation. 

Contact:
For further information on the event or to request interviews with any of the speakers at the PharmaAfrica Market Access Conference, please contact:
Miles Mudzviti
Email: miles@pharmaafrica.com  
Tel: +44(0)7917-820-925

For further information event registration and/or sponsorship, please contact:
Lynn Amey
Email: lynn@pharmaafrica.com  
Tel: +44(0)7790-524-513