What a busy week in Peru! Today concludes the latest round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Since 2011, TPP has aided the United States in our active pursuit of stronger trade relationships with countries in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region. A 21^st century trade agreement holds the potential for enhancing trade and investment among all partners, sparking economic growth and development, and supporting future innovation. Realizing these benefits requires pursuing the right kind of standards, particularly in the area of intellectual property.

This week, we’ll explore the key achievements that protecting intellectual property rights would have:

• Increased innovation - A recent blog from PhRMA concludes that IP rights are the key to driving innovation, particularly in medicine. All industries, including biopharmaceuticals, rely on the protection of IP rights to drive and cultivate a culture of innovation. Protecting IP rights leaves the profit in the hands of those who have invested the time and money into research, and allows them to continue doing so.
• Increased trade among all partners – Associate Professor of Economics from Colorado College, Dr. Kristina Lybecker, writes on how strong IP rights contribute to increased trade, which drives economic development. When these rights are protected, it eliminates a critical barrier to access and allows global industries to enhance and grow trade.
• A stronger economy that focuses on development – The IP Commission Report estimates IP theft in the U.S. costs over $300 billion per year—nearly the same number as annual U.S. exports to Asia. If IP received the same protections oversees that it does in the U.S. it would be likely that the American economy would add millions of jobs, increase research and development of new products and drive economic growth

These principles are all deeply interconnected and hinge on protecting intellectual property. Successful investment and trade are crucial to keeping the U.S. economy afloat. To maintain economic competitiveness, international standards must create a level playing field. Furthermore, intellectual property protections create the necessary incentives for investment in research and development, without which patients worldwide would not have access to innovative life saving treatments. As TPP negotiations progress, the U.S. must display a firm commitment to protect intellectual property rights, ensuring that the outcome stands in line with current U.S. law.

Today's guest blog comes from Lilly's Vice President of Global Health Programs and Access, Dr. Evan Lee. 

It is a busy week in Geneva with a multitude of delegates and other groups gathered for the 66^th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization. Among the many issues on the agenda, attendees will be reviewing proposed global targets to reduce rates of leading non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as an action plan for mental health. Targets are a great way to encourage countries to step up efforts against diseases that badly strain health care systems and hamper economic development. With NCDs claiming 35 million lives each year, we should certainly be driving our work with a sense of urgency and purpose.

In order to hit any targets in developing countries, practically speaking, we need to build capacity for effective, data-driven NCD prevention and control programs. This is a focus of our work with local partners in India, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil through the Lilly NCD Partnership.

In addition to the core work of our partnership efforts at the patient level, Lilly is driving and partnering to convene stakeholder organizations to share learning, propel thinking, and strengthen collaboration. In June, Lilly will co-convene the India Diabetes Policy Summit to be held in New Delhi. The summit will engage an array of stakeholders at national and state levels on the critical challenges that must be addressed to meet the significant and growing burden of diabetes.

We are also looking forward to the Lilly NCD Partnership Summit to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in July. This summit is a unique example of how Lilly is fostering North-South and South-South interactions. Our partners from India, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil will come together to provide updates on their work within the Lilly NCD Partnership, provide input to the efforts of others, network, and interact with global health leaders. The lessons we are learning from these pilot models will inform cost-effective solutions to diabetes care that can be replicated and scaled up in developing countries around the world.

Lilly commends the World Health Assembly interactions and at the same time urges a thoughtful balance of engagement and action. Now, more than ever, individuals, communities, and governments need smart, well-designed interventions that are expertly implemented. With a limited and possibly diminishing pool of resources we all must operate in thoughtful, collaborative, and well-informed ways so to make progress to and eventually achieve the goals that are set.

We’re grateful to our partners for the opportunity to collaborate on the Lilly NCD Partnership projects, which will contribute to improving care for people with diabetes around the world – and help achieve the World Health Organization’s global targets for the prevention and control of NCDs.

Legislation for a national pharmaceutical track-and-trace system gained steam on the Hill this week. On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce committee approved its version of the track-and-trace legislation, H.R. 1919. Yesterday, right on the heels of the House, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved their own version of the legislation, S. 957, and then combined it with new compounding legislation. 

Each bill aims to create an interoperable, electronic, unit-level tracing system for the U.S. drug supply chain aimed at protecting people from fake medicines, recalls, and stolen or expired medicines. Both bills seek to accomplish this goal in a step-wise and scalable manner to ensure it will be implemented by different parts of the supply chain in staggered way. The work begins immediately and eventually will lead to a full track and trace system with roles for each stakeholder in the supply chain, from manufacturers that make the drugs to the pharmacists that dispense them to patients. 

There are some differences in the two bills, but both contain the underlying principles and requirements that will improve drug safety in the United States with a comprehensive, national system. The bills go a long way toward the development of a single, national system to follow medicines as they travel through the supply chain. By strengthening the chain, these bills will help provide patients with peace of mind on the safety and efficacy of their medications. 

Lilly joins other supply-chain stakeholders in congratulating Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Fred Upton, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander as well as Senators Bennet and Burr and other Congressional champions of these bills on this great accomplishment. We applaud this milestone and look forward to working with Congress as they partner to improve and eventually pass the legislation into law.

Medicare Part D currently provides over 35 million older Americans improved access to their prescription medications. Yesterday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging brought together policy experts to discuss Medicare Part D’s performance in the decade since it became law. Reflecting back on the last 10 years, it becomes clear that Part D works. Medicare Part D provides beneficiaries with quality, cost-effective care and helps to improve the sustainability of the entire health care system.

Ranking Member Susan M. Collins noted that the Part D program is “extremely popular and working very well.” According to recent surveys, an astonishing 94% of Part D enrollees say they are satisfied with their coverage, and 95% feel confident that their coverage meets their needs. However, Senator Collins cited concerns that a lack of education and awareness of Part D may lead older Americans to choose plans that do not best suit their lifestyles. As Senator Collins emphasized, providing more targeted assistance can help ensure that beneficiaries choose plans that best meet their financial and health needs.

Greater choice for beneficiaries choosing their Rx drug plans helps ensure that competition will keep prices low and quality of care high. It is this free market balance that has made Part D an effective program over the last decade. Speaking before the committee, Research Professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, Jack Hoadley, PhD outlined four successes of Medicare Part D:

• The cost of Part D has been lower than expectations
• Part D has reduced costs and increased access for enrollees
• The Part D coverage gap is being fixed
• Despite initial concerns, the program’s launch went smoothly

Medicare Part D has proven time and again that health policy can provide quality care and be fiscally sound. Yet despite these successes, proposals continue to threaten the balance of choice, competition, and free market principles that make this policy viable. As Executive Vice President for Policy and Research at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Richard Smith emphasized, “There is no justification for imposing price controls on a Part D program that has achieved a strong record of cost containment, beneficiary satisfaction, and improved health outcomes.” As the months lead up to Medicare Part D’s 10 year anniversary, we look forward to more discussion about how we protect this model program that work for patients. As Chairman Bill Nelson said at yesterday’s hearing, “We can work together to ensure that no senior ever has to leave the pharmacy without the drugs they need.” 

Today's guest blog is from Amy Sousa, Communication Director for Lilly's emerging markets business area. Amy wrote this blog from Zandspruit, South Africa, where she is currently volunteering as part of our Connecting Hearts Abroad program. A version of this blog was originally featured on Project Hope's In the Field blog. Project Hope is one of our partner organizations in the Lilly NCD Partnership.

Like a lot of volunteers, I did my research ahead of time. On the history, the climate, the healthcare system, the greatest challenges facing the poor.

“I came open,” said one of my fellow volunteers. “Open to help, to do what I need to do, open to the experience.”

Now that I’ve been at the HOPE Centre healthcare clinic located in Zandspruit, an informal settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa, I see that as the better approach. The HOPE Centre provides treatment and education to local residents about health issues, especially diabetes and hypertension.

Unfortunately, openness still won’t protect you from the shock of seeing thousands of shacks leaning against each other for support,  sewage running through the streets, and limited access to basic healthcare, water and electricity. But openness will keep you from being overwhelmed by the magnitude of need. It can actually focus you on the small – but critically important role -- part you play in improving the conditions that day…and hopefully beyond.

At the HOPE Centre, our team of 10 volunteers from Eli Lilly and Company includes medical doctors, pharmacists, diabetes educators, and communication specialists. We are helping conduct diabetes health screenings, improve patient understanding of chronic diseases and medication compliance, and support nutrition education and peer educator training.

It’s a lot to accomplish in two weeks. And it’s still not nearly time enough to meet the needs of patients living in these conditions. But we’re open to what we need to accomplish today. We’re open to the experience. We’re open to making a small difference, however we can, today. And we’re open to the possibility that through the great work of Project HOPE and Lilly, we can collectively make a big difference in the years to come.

Today's blog comes from Julie Herrick Williams, manager of communications for Lilly Diabetes. Julie wrote this blog from Zandspruit, South Africa, where she is currently volunteering as part of our Connecting Hearts Abroad program. A version of this blog was originally featured on Project Hope’s In the Field blog. Project Hope is one of our partner organizations in the Lilly NCD Partnership.

 I came to the Project HOPE Centre in South Africa thinking that I would not have much in common with the people I would meet here. How could I? We live half a world and an equator apart. In less than a week on the ground, everything’s changed.

For example, I noticed the young 20-something guys who have been working with our team are congenial and chatty, willing to tease and be teased. They get along well with each other and charm the adults around them.

Where I have I noticed this before? In my three 20-something sons when all we get together. It makes me see them in a whole new light.

On our first day, I met one of the clinic staff on our walking tour of the community. We shared family stories and really hit it off. I hadn’t seen her for several days, and today when we met up, she put her arm around me and said, “What have you been doing? I’ve missed you.”

Where have I heard that before? From my best friend at home when we’re both too busy to connect. It makes me see her in a whole new light.

I spent time today talking with a 72-year-old resident of Zandspruit about the dress she was making. Next to her she had a bag filled with projects at various stages of completion.

Where have I seen this before? In my grandmother, who always had a sewing project on her lap whenever she was sitting down. It makes me see her in a whole new light.

So when the elderly lady told me she has “sugar in the blood” (diabetes), high blood pressure, “takes the pills” (brown, white), and can’t see too well out of her right eye these days, I better understand why our volunteer work here at the Project HOPE Centre is so important. She is someone’s grandma.

I better understand why it’s important that the young men volunteer at the clinic. They are someone’s sons.

I better understand why the staff members at the clinic work so well together. They are friends.

Getting to know the people and patients at the HOPE Centre clinic has helped me see them in a whole new light. In spite of our many differences, the most important things are the same.

As Director for External Relations at Eli Lilly and Company, Yolanda Johnson-Moton works to enhance Lilly’s partnerships with US external stakeholders. Currently, Yolanda is working on developing medical student and resident partnership programs between Lilly USA and the academic medical community.

Patients are at the center of everything we do at Lilly. To truly deliver great health outcomes for patients, we must have a deep understanding of their medical needs. The many health care providers working at Lilly, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, came here to fulfill their desire to serve patients on a broad scale.

Throughout Lilly, a diverse team of medical professionals play a vital role in bringing new and innovative medicines to patients. They bring their clinical experience and passion for patient care to drug discovery and development, as highlighted by a new video released today by the company.

The depth and breadth of medical expertise at Lilly extends broadly, to clinical research, bioethics, regulatory, medical information, quality assurance, epidemiology and beyond. Health care providers working at Lilly include more than 500 physicians, 700 pharmacists,and 1,400 scientists.

These health care providers deliver answers to often complex, difficult problems in two ways: through the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines and through the health information they offer to health care professionals, patients, and their caregivers.

Lilly’s medical professionals also engage in ethical and meaningful relationships with external customers. They seek to build long-term relationships with scientific organizations, researchers and advocacy and medical associations, with the goal of sharing scientific knowledge, enhancing clinical practice, and improving patient outcomes.

Although they are Lilly employees, they remain health care providers first and foremost, and as such their primary interest is the welfare of patients.

Martha Rinker, is the Chief Advocacy Officer for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. AADE Advocacy is responsible for influencing the future of diabetes education and the role of the diabetes educator in health care; advocating for policies that improve access to diabetes self-management training (DSMT) and maintaining a national network of diabetes educators to support activities that affect persons with diabetes and public policy related to diabetes education and care.

On Monday May 20, 2013 the American Association of Diabetes Educators and its members will be in Washington, DC for a two-day advocacy training and visit with Members of Congress. Our event will cover a variety of topics on the fiscal and health implications associated with diabetes and legislation designed to address them—but most importantly giving our members the necessary tools to be effective advocates.

Advocacy is an integral part of the AADE role and our members are on the frontlines advocating for optimal care for all people with diabetes both at the federal and state level.

As an association, we pride ourselves in supporting the larger diabetes community and advocating for policies that impact diabetes education and care. This includes promotion of the diabetes self-management training (DSMT) benefit, which is a key solution to improving the health of people with diabetes and lowering the overall fiscal impact of the disease on the U.S. healthcare system.

Teaching patients how to effectively control their diabetes through self-management is considered one of the most important and cost effective tools in the arsenal of diabetes treatment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has acknowledged this evidence by creating a benefit for DSMT and have added DSMT to the list of approved telehealth services. In taking this very positive step, CMS noted that DSMT has been ‘significantly underutilized’ over the past decade, and the ‘growing evidence base regarding effective DSMT services’ made it important to facilitate beneficiary access to the underutilized service.”

Gina Kelly Rice, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR). SWHR, a national non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., is the thought leader in research on biological differences in disease, and is dedicated to transforming women’s health through science, advocacy and education.

We don’t have to look back very far at all, since prior to 1990, women were routinely not included, if not outright prohibited, in medical research studies, and no one thought about possible differences between men and women, other than reproductive issues.

Part of the reason was to protect women during their reproductive years, but the other reason was that scientists believed women and men to be biologically the same.Clinical trials for drugs and devices included mostly men, and it was assumed that the results could be applied to both men and women.

Why Gender Does Matter?

When it comes to health, there are many crucial differences between men and women. Yet many women do not know that they react differently to some medications, are more vulnerable to some diseases, and may have different symptoms. Just a few examples from Women’s Health A-Z:

• Heart Disease kills over 50,000 more women than men each year.
• Depression – Women are two-to-three times more likely than men to suffer from depression.
• Osteoporosis – Women comprise 80 percent of the population suffering from osteoporosis.
• Smoking – Smoking-related diseases kill more than 140,000 American women annually.
• Autoimmune Disease – Three out of four people suffering from autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, are women.
• Alcohol – About 1.6 million alcoholics in the US are women, who are the fastest growing segment of the alcohol abusing population.
• Pain – Many chronic pain conditions are more common in women, such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, and osteoarthritis (after age 45).
• Stroke – Each year, approximately 40,000 more women than men suffer from a stroke.

SWHR’s What a Difference an X Makes – The State of Women’s Health Research” Conference, July 18 -19, 2013 is designed to raise awareness about the importance of sex differences in various diseases and conditions that affect both men and women or women disproportionately. This conference will address the state-of-the-science in various scientific fields, while highlighting future research and knowledge gaps in knowledge.

Get engaged in National Women's Health Week, by visiting swhr.org to learn about how sex differences affect your health.

Today's guest blog was written by Kim Cantor, Senior Director, Public Policy and Government Relations of the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

What is lupus? This is a question that I get asked often working for the Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus is a mysterious and devastating disease that ravages different parts of the body and has no known cause and no known cure.

The disease is more pervasive and more severe than people think, and has an impact that the public doesn’t realize. A recent survey revealed nearly three-fourths of Americans ages 18 to 34 – those at the highest risk for lupus – have never heard of lupus or know little or nothing about lupus beyond its name.

Building awareness of lupus is essential to improving the diagnosis and treatment of this cruel disease that disproportionately affects minorities and women in the prime of their lives. I have heard many heartfelt stories of people struggling for years to find a diagnosis, managing and overcoming serious and life-threatening health consequences, or lost loved ones to lupus.

Efforts for are underway for Lupus Awareness Month, but it’s not too late to join the fight against lupus and take action to help expand lupus research efforts.

We are empowering individuals, organizations, and companies to educate people in their communities about lupus and the need to expand lupus medical research. During May, the Lupus Foundation of America will provide free tools and resources online at lupus.org/awareness.

Here are a few ways you can join the fight to end lupus during Lupus Awareness Month:

• Sign the petition. We are urging the public to help us solve the cruel mystery by signing a petition that asks Congress to fund more lupus research efforts. The petition is available online at lupus.org/petition
• Put on Purple Day-May 17th. Purple is the color used for lupus awareness. The Foundation asks everyone to wear purple, work with community leaders to illuminate local fountains and buildings in purple that day.
• Share Lupus Information with Friends, Family and Colleagues – Post fliers throughout the office and the community. Share daily facts about lupus or place a banner within newsletters, on websites, and on social media sites.

For more information about Lupus Awareness Month and other ways to join the fight, visit the Lupus Foundation of America’s website.