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The HIV Scene in the 1990s
Axios’ origins go back to the early years of the battle for HIV treatment where people felt that developing countries were ‘too poor and too un-educated’ to be able to use antiretrovirals (ARVs). Most opinion leaders maintained that patients in developing countries would not be compliant with ARVs treatment and that giving these patients access to ARVs would be risky irresponsible and create ARV resistance.
Where we came from
In 1996 Axios’ current CEO, Joseph Saba, a Lebanese/French infectious diseases doctor, was working in UNAIDS. The big challenge was the lack of access to affordable ARVs in developing countries and the lack of knowledge of how to prepare health systems for ARV treatment. Saba and Irish businessman, Brian Elliot, started negotiations with the pharma industry to achieve something previously unheard off: a much lower set of ARV prices for developing countries. The year 1997 was a major breakthrough and they launched the first-ever ARV programs in four developing countries: Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda (first ARV programs in all of Africa), Chile and Vietnam. These pioneering programs proved that ARV treatment could be done safely and effectively in developing countries and it opened the door for the subsequent price reductions and ARV initiatives for developing countries.
The creation of Axios
This thought leadership in access to drugs and health care in developing countries lead to the creation of Axios (old Greek for "worthy"). The consultancy company Axios International was founded in 1997 with a vision of increasing access to health care in developing countries. Axios early pioneers were Anne Reeler, a Danish medical anthropologist, Sowedi Muyingo, a Ugandan pharmacist and MBA, and an Irish accountant, John MacDonald. Joseph Saba joined in 1999 as chief executive officer and Irish business consultant, Peter Ahern joined to head the non-profit Axios Foundation.
In 1999 Axios had six committed professionals with a strong vision of creating access to health care in developing countries by bridging public and private sector interests. Today the company consists of more than 100 committed and highly qualified professionals of 20+ nationalities with offices in 12 countries.
Heads, hearts and hands...
Today, the challenge is still to increase access to life-saving drugs and health care services for patients in developing and emerging countries. But the need has expanded beyond HIV to other chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. As in the pioneering ARV project, Axios enables clients to make a real difference through a full range of services that include strategy, implementation, research, creative commercial strategies, communication and awareness raising.