An agreement to secure the entry of Gleevec for Guatemalan GIST and chronic myeloid leukemia patients was reached with the Central American country’s government July 10, following advocacy efforts by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Alianza GIST and the Guatemalan Association of Patients With CML (ASOPALEU).
The matter was given urgent priority and passed to the Office of Social Programs of the First Lady (Secretaría de Obras Sociales de la Esposa del Presidente – SOSEP), entity responsible for granting the corresponding governmental authorizations.
The directors of ASOPALEU presented the vice minister of Public Health with a copy of the Cartagena Declaration, which includes the rights and needs of patients with blood diseases. They also reaffirmed their willingness to work together with the Ministry of Public Health in benefit of ASOPALEU’s community attended at Public Hospitals San Juan de Dios and Roosevelt, and to facilitate their access to quality medication.
They expressed their gratitude to Novartis for including Guatemala in the Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP), which will improve access for GIST patients.
“This agreement will stop the entry of copies of Gleevec, and assure that GIST patients in Guatemala are receiving effective medication,” said Sara Rothschild, LRG Global Relations Director and coordinator of Alianza GIST.
