What patients' organizations can do booklet
Tips for advocating
This booklet provides patients’ organizations with information about how they can advocate for patient access to safe, high-quality, affordable and modern medicines. Countries across the world are at different stages in terms of the availability of biological medicines, their regulation and pharmacovigilance.
Answering important questions
Sections 1 to 4 in this booklet provide a series of steps to help patients’ organizations address the following key questions in their work on biological and biosimilar medicines:
- Are biological and biosimilar medicines available in your country?
- How are biological and biosimilar medicines regulated in your country?
- Is there a pharmacovigilance system in your country?
- What is your position on biological and biosimilar medicines?
- What is your strategy?
Tips on awareness and knowledge
Sections 5 to 7 provide tips on raising awareness and knowledge about biological and biosimilars medicines; an action plan template, including an example developed by a participant at IAPO’s Workshop on Biosimilar Medicines in 2013; and advocacy examples from three IAPO members to help you develop your own work. This booklet should be read in conjunction with the other sections in IAPO’s Information and Advocacy Toolkit on Biological and Biosimilar Medicines. For definitions of terminology please see the Glossary in the Briefing Paper in this Toolkit.