Abbott 2003 Global Citizenship Report - Abbott Laboratories

Pricing
Considerations
Pharmaceutical research and development is a risky enterprise. In 2003, Abbott invested more
than $1.7 billion in research and development, including more than $1 billion to develop new
medicines. Pricing of medicines is complex. When determining prices of our medicines, we
consider multiple factors, including R&D costs, manufacturing and quality assurance costs,
the therapeutic value of the product and government regulations. As such, we work to strike a
balance between maximizing patient access and ensuring a sustainable return to fund future
research and development, while meeting our obligation to provide a return for shareholders.
Patient
Advocacy
Consistent with Abbott’s mission to improve human health, we have a duty to shareholders,
employees and patients to ensure our voice is heard on major policy issues that influence
patients’ access to innovative medicines. These issues also impact our company’s success over
the long term.
Medicare Reform
Abbott’s top policy issue in the United States in 2003 was to help secure passage of a Medicare
prescription drug benefit for the nation’s senior citizens. We have supported this benefit
since the inception of the National Bipartisan Commission on Medicare in 1997. During the
year, we worked closely with a diverse number of patient and health professional organizations
to successfully advocate for the adoption of this benefit by the U.S. Congress.
Expanding
Patient Access
Thousands of patients have benefited through our partnerships with patient groups at the
state and national levels in the United States to ensure economically disadvantaged patients
are not denied access to needed treatments. For example, we estimate that our efforts have
helped approximately 750,000 Medicaid patients gain access to HIV and neurological
medicines, and 142,000 Medicare patients gain access to treatments for end-stage renal disease.
We also worked closely with state AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) directors and HIV
community groups to increase funding for ADAP.
AIDS Funding
for the
Developing World
On the international front, we supported President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,
which proposed $15 billion in foreign assistance to address HIV prevention, treatment and
care in developing countries over five years. Abbott’s chairman and CEO participated in
congressional briefings to urge support of the president’s initiative. In addition, Abbott
executives conducted briefings with policy advisors in the administration and Congress,
sharing lessons learned from Abbott’s AIDS-related humanitarian programs in Africa.
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