Janssen, the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, has formed Janssen Global Public Health (Janssen GPH), a new group unifying Janssen's commitment to research, develop and deliver transformational medicines to address the world's greatest unmet public health needs.

Janssen GPH will align the company's science and innovative access models under a single entity to drive better health outcomes, improve quality of life for patients and sustainably advance health for people all over the world.

"To solve today's greatest public health challenges, it's essential that we emphasize the needs of the developing world in equal measure to those of the developed world," said Paul Stoffels, M.D., chief scientific officer, Johnson & Johnson and worldwide chairman of Janssen. "With this new group, we've adopted a more focused approach to further develop and introduce our most promising medicines, and with other like-minded organizations, we look forward to advancing a sustainable platform that will make a significant impact on the lives of people around the world."

Janssen GPH is one part of Janssen and J&J's shared response to the world's global public health challenges. Other organizations and operating companies within the company have launched and continue to support comprehensive efforts toward strengthening the health of communities, improving maternal and child health and preventing the spread of infectious and preventable diseases worldwide through vaccination. Janssen GPH will partner with other organizations within the company as appropriate to advance global public health goals. Adrian Thomas, M.D., vice president of global market access, global commercial strategy operations and global public health, and Wim Parys, M.D., vice president, R&D, global public health, jointly will lead Janssen GPH.

Janssen GPH will be responsible for clinical and product development and creating and implementing innovative new access strategies for a growing portfolio of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and services for diseases significantly impacting resource-limited countries and emerging markets.

"The world's major global health challenges call for products and practices designed specifically to address the real world needs of people living with disease in underserved regions of the world," said Parys. "As dedicated researchers, we recognize this unmet need. We also have the ability to leverage our R&D skills and experience in collaborations that support innovative solutions for the developing world, specifically developed for places in need and appropriate for local contexts. Through Janssen GPH, we hope to create more targeted medicines for treating and preventing disease."

Janssen GPH will cultivate and help implement innovative pricing and results-based financing models that improve access to these medicines for patients in resource-limited and emerging markets, while also creating sustainable, long-term solutions based on country ownership and accountability for health services and outcomes. These new strategies will be integrated with those developed by Janssen's Global Access and Partnerships Program (GAPP), which currently ensures affordable and sustainable access to the company's portfolio of HIV medicines in resource-limited countries.

Janssen GPH recognizes the need for enhanced collaborations to better address unmet public health needs around the world. Janssen GPH will be the central point of contact for continued collaboration with global public health stakeholders and invites innovative, international and multi-sectorial collaborations to tackle key challenges in global public health, such as MDR-TB. Janssen GPH also will work with stakeholders to ensure that public health policies are developed to maximize access to our portfolio of medicines needed by patients around the world.