Takeda Expands Its Help At Hand Patient Assistance Program in U.S.; Reaches Even More Eligible Patients in the U.S.

DEERFIELD, Ill. , April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Takeda today announced its U.S. Business Unit will expand its patient assistance program to make its prescription drugs available to more eligible patients in the U.S.

Under the expanded program, Takeda will allow individuals with incomes at 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to apply for its free medicine program -- called Help At Hand -- which offers 11 currently marketed prescription drugs from Takeda at no cost or reduced cost to the patient. Under this expansion a family of four with a household income of about $100,000 may qualify for its free prescription drug program. Since its current patient assistance program began in 2008, Takeda said it has provided more than 1,000,000 prescriptions to more than 200,000 patients in the U.S. This change is expected to be effective by June 30, 2016 .

"We have expanded this program to allow more U.S. patients to gain access to Takeda medicines that can potentially improve their health," said Ramona Sequeira , President, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. , Inc. "Every day, we're placing the needs of patients at the center of what we do around the world. This program expansion in the U.S. is one more way we're showing patients we're focused on their needs."

Sequeira also said that in 2016 all national advertising will feature the contact information for patient assistance programs.

Key Facts: Takeda Patient Assistance Program

• The current Takeda Help At Hand patient assistance program was launched in 2008.
• In 2015, the company said it achieved a milestone with more than 1,000,000 prescriptions provided cumulatively to patients in the U.S. through Takeda's Help At Hand program.
• More than 200,000 patients have been provided prescriptions since the current program inception in 2008.
• More than $580 million in medicines have been provided to patients through Takeda's Help At Hand effort. Takeda values these medicines using the industry-standard wholesale acquisition cost method.
• The Help At Hand program offers 11 currently-marketed Takeda pharmaceutical products. This expansion of the Help At Hand program does not include Takeda Oncology products which have dedicated patient assistance programs.
• The expanded program raises the eligibility limit to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level from its previous 300 percent ceiling, expanding the total eligibility pool by more than 40.8 million Americans according to U.S. census data. Not all patients who inquire may qualify for Takeda's patient assistance program or have conditions addressed by one of the available medicines.
• All national advertising in 2016 will feature the contact information for Takeda patient assistance programs.
• The 2016 U.S. Federal Poverty Level (https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines) is as follows:

Persons in household

2016 Federal
Poverty Level threshold
100% FPL