Millions of lives to be saved following record donation
Dienstag, 18 August 2009
Teva UK, the country's largest manufacturer of generic medicines, has donated £12.1m worth of products to International Health Partners (IHP).
The donation by the Castleford firm equates to more than two million treatments - a UK record for a single company donation.
It includes medicines used for the treatment of high blood pressure, acute infections, diabetes, respiratory and mental health, and will be distributed by IHP through charitable partners in developing countries across the globe such as Guatemala, Kenya and Tanzania.
Richard Daniell, senior director at Teva, said: "We take it for granted that treatments for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure are available to us, but in the developing world it's a different story.
"As a major generic medicines company our philosophy is about making healthcare accessible, so we're committed to working with organisations like IHP to help deliver these basic healthcare products to those who need them most."
Anthony Dunnett, IHP's president, said: "Generous donations like Teva's are a great example of how industry can help the millions of people worldwide who lack access to essential primary healthcare medicines.
"These life saving and enhancing medicines will be sent to 12 countries on four continents - it has been a tremendous collaborative effort, each party giving what they do best."
He added: "I would like to applaud Teva for their donation and also thank DHL for providing free storage facilities and logistics services and Mawdsleys for preparing the donation for shipment.
"These drugs will bring healing and relief to almost a million people in the developing world, who could presently only dream of these medicines that we take for granted."
The donation from Teva totals more than 40 million tablets.
Teva recently relocated to a combined office and warehouse facility near Glasshoughton where it employs nearly 200 people out of a UK workforce of around 700.
Currently, more than 360 healthcare technology companies operate out of the region including international corporations such as Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benkiser, and Seven Seas.
The sector is growing four times faster than in other UK regions and employs more than 10,000 people thanks to one of the country’s highest concentrations of medical device companies, exceptional access to clinical trials, pioneering research and development, and specialist skills in surgical instrumentation, orthopaedics and advanced wound care. The region also boasts one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals.