STAMFORD,
Conn. – AmeriCares has awarded its
annual Power of Partnership Award to AstraZeneca for its outstanding commitment
to increasing access to health care for people in need both here at home and
throughout the developing world. In the
past year alone, the pharmaceutical company renewed its support for the only
breast cancer treatment program for Cambodia’s poor, assembled over 14,000
hygiene kits for disaster survivors and, for the second year in a row, donated
$5 million in medicines for chronically ill Americans.
AmeriCares President & CEO Curt Welling
presented the award today at the Healthcare Distribution Management
Association’s (HDMA) Business & Leadership Conference in Phoenix. The
Power of Partnership Award was created by AmeriCares and HDMA to recognize medical manufacturing and distribution
organizations that have shown
exceptional dedication to expanding access to medicines and health care for
disadvantaged populations.
“AstraZeneca
supports our global health programs on every level, from product donations and
cash grants to hands-on employee involvement after major disasters,” Welling
said. “We’re restoring health and saving
lives every day because of great corporate partners like AstraZeneca.”
The
company has supported AmeriCares global health programs with over $63 million
in product donations since 2003. Over
the years, AstraZeneca’s lifesaving medicines have reached 68 countries
including Cambodia where it supports a program that provides free breast cancer
screening, treatment and patient education for impoverished women, along with medical
staff training. AstraZeneca, which has been
involved since the program’s inception in 2007, recently extended its
commitment for another three years.
AstraZeneca
also supports AmeriCares work in the U.S., from disasters like the recent
tornadoes in the South to its ongoing medical aid deliveries to free clinics
and community health programs. Over the past two years, AstraZeneca has donated
$10 million of medicines for chronically ill Americans without adequate health
insurance.
“HDMA
is proud to collaborate with AmeriCares to honor a partnership that has truly
made a difference in the lives of patients worldwide,” said HDMA President and
CEO John M. Gray. “We congratulate the AstraZeneca team, whose outstanding
humanitarian efforts reflect HDMA members’ shared commitment to delivering
lifesaving medicines, products and services to those in need.”
About AmeriCares
AmeriCares is a
nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization which delivers
medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and
across the United States. Since it was
established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $10 billion in
humanitarian aid to 147 countries. For
more information, log onto www.AmeriCares.org .
About HDMA
HDMA is the national association representing primary
healthcare distributors, the vital link in the healthcare system. Each business
day, HDMA member companies ensure that more than nine million prescription
medicines and healthcare products are delivered safely and efficiently to 164,000
pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and others nationwide. HDMA and
its members work daily to provide value and contain costs, saving the nation’s
healthcare system an estimated $32 billion per year. For more information,
visit www.HealthcareDistribution.org.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical
business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and
commercialization of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal,
cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and
infectious disease. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its
innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more
information about AstraZeneca in the U.S. or our AZ&Me™ Prescription
Savings programs, please visit: www.astrazeneca-us.com
or call 1-800-AZandMe (292-6363).
