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“We are committed to fast-tracking innovation and transformative care to patients”

BioSpectrum Asia

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October 2020

Thomas Willemsen, Senior Vice President, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, APAC, Singapore

- Hithaishi C Bhaska

“We are committed to fast-tracking innovation and transformative care to patients”

The present pandemic scenarios are continuing to place immense pressure on healthcare systems across Asia Pacific (APAC). Rapidly growing, aging population and surging healthcare costs, making it challenging for governments to ensure citizens receive affordable, high-quality treatment and care. There is a need to act swiftly to alleviate these challenges to prevent prolonged stress on the healthcare systems by enhancing the healthcare sustainability. Amidst the severe burden on healthcare systems, global pharmaceutical companies like Takeda are expressing confidence to potentially transform the lives through their breakthrough innovative vaccines and medications. Takeda is focusing on value-based healthcare to deliver personalized, precise treatments aimed at improving patient outcomes, while ultimately lowering costs, to better invest in innovation and deliver impactful value to patients. Thomas Willemsen, Senior Vice President of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, APAC, Singapore has more to share on the Asia Pacific healthcare challenges and Takeda’s upcoming ventures, especially in combating dengue and COVID-19.

Edited excerpts;

Takeda is committed towards accelerating access to innovative medicines? Can you provide more insight on this?

Our Access to Medicines (AtM) initiative is about radically increasing access to innovative medicines for complex and rare diseases by mobilizing collective action to drive impact to patients. This is done through targeted partnerships that strengthen healthcare systems in a sustainable way, at every stage of the patient journey.

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