Patient Access Philosophy
Alnylam is committed to making the therapies we develop available to those who will benefit from them
Alnylam was founded in 2002 with the ambitious goal of developing an entirely new class of medicines based on a major scientific breakthrough called RNA interference (RNAi). Patients, caregivers, and advocates have been unwavering partners, standing beside us as we work relentlessly to develop investigational therapies to help people with serious and life-threatening diseases. We deeply value these partnerships. We remain steadfastly committed to understanding patient needs and how to best address them.
Here at Alnylam, we all live by a shared Philosophy when it comes to patient access: our therapies must get to those who will benefit from them. We consider this Philosophy as our compass, guiding how we will behave and the decisions we will make. We are establishing our Patient Access Philosophy before we have an approved medicine because we know that, too often, patients have trouble accessing the medicines their doctor prescribes. We have come too far and there is too great of a need for our future medicines to accept this situation for our patients.
What our Philosophy means for the people who matter most—
our patient communities:
Patients come first. We are actively listening to the challenges patients and their families face and we are seeking solutions. Every day, we are working with doctors, insurance companies, and other payers to increase awareness of rare diseases to improve diagnosis and care so that patients can live healthier lives.
For example: At Alnylam, we’re dedicated to getting medicines to patients as quickly as possible, because we know every day matters. We are building a team dedicated to answering patient calls for help in gaining access to prescribed medicines. Their job will be to roll up their sleeves, answer questions, and support patients in securing access to our medicines. This Alnylam team will be committed to serving the best interest of patients through personal, one-on-one interactions.
Innovation is key in everything we do. We are working as quickly as possible to develop new, innovative medicines that have a powerful and positive impact on lives. And, we are determined to apply this pioneering spirit to our next mission of ensuring that patients have access to our approved therapies whenever they are prescribed.
For example: We will work with insurers on creative new strategies to get patients the medicine prescribed for their condition. Our medicines will be priced responsibly, meaning they will be priced in light of the value delivered and in consideration of the rare disease markets we serve. We will grow through continued scientific innovation – not arbitrary price increases. Specifically, we will not raise the price of our medicines over the rate of inflation as determined by the consumer price index for urban consumers (roughly 2.2% currently).
Accountability is a must. We will fight for policies that promote better medicines and faster patient access to them. We will address and seek solutions to financial barriers to access. And, we will report our efforts to you, and be transparent about what is working and what isn’t. Despite having not yet made a profit, we’ll invest our minds, hearts, and resources – more than $375 million dollars last year alone – in research and development because, if we succeed, we believe we will transform medicine and patients’ lives.