The Glivec® International Patient Assistance Program, or GIPAP, is one of the most generous and far-reaching patient assistance programs ever developed for a breakthrough cancer therapy. GIPAP was established in 2001 by Novartis Pharma AG to provide Glivec® to qualified patients worldwide in countries where Glivec® is approved for treating:
- Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in various phases according to individual country's approved registration, or
- Kit (CD117) positive unresectable (inoperable) and/or metastatic malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST).
Through GIPAP, Glivec® must be donated in accordance with the specific approved use in a country. This means that if Glivec® is not approved for a specific indication in a country, it cannot be administered to patients for that use in that country via GIPAP. The program is not available in countries where a generic form of imatinib is available. To be eligible for GIPAP, patients must be properly diagnosed by a qualified physician, not insured or reimbursed and have no other financial recourse. GIPAP is being implemented worldwide, except in the United States and Puerto Rico where Novartis Pharma AG has developed a separate Patient Assistance Program (PAP) www.Glivec.com.
The GIPAP model is designed to provide the drug
to individual patients, as opposed to typical donation programs
that deliver drugs through hospitals or other third party
distribution organizations. The Max
Foundation administers GIPAP on behalf of Novartis. As
the administrator, The Max Foundation is responsible for registering
qualified patients according to specific medical and financial
requirements provided by Novartis. These requirements are
in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines,
which provide global guidance on charitable donation programs.
Novartis is responsible for the actual shipment of the drug
to qualified treatment centers that provide the drug to those
patients approved by The Max Foundation.
Treatment centers must qualify for the GIPAP program and are
evaluated based primarily on their oncologic/haematologic
expertise and diagnostic and monitoring capabilities. Physicians
must be registered in order to apply for GIPAP assistance
on behalf of their patients to help ensure that appropriate
patients for this drug therapy are considered. The physician
must be involved in all stages of the treatment (diagnosis,
prescription and follow-through). Physicians can register
for GIPAP by selecting this link.
https://www.gipap.org/Default.aspx?trgt=gipap&choice=physicianregistration
In countries where proper medical treatment is often difficult to obtain and there is no government supported social security system, but where Novartis has no domestic operations, Novartis has contracted with Axios to reach eligible cancer patients through its Glivec® International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP). In about 35 countries where there are limited basic
health services and where Glivec® is not commercially
available, GIPAP provides physicians with a treatment option
that is easy to administer and does not require expensive
equipment or significant infrastructure.
If you need more information about GIPAP or
need assistance completing the form, please e-mail GIPAP@accesstotreatment.org.
