Data Presented at 3rd Healthy Lung Summit 2019, Demonstrates Impact of AstraZeneca's Healthy Lung Partnership Programme in 9 Asian Countries

Broadening commitment to drive improvements for patients with respiratory disease across Asia, AstraZeneca and Business Sweden - The Swedish Trade & Invest Council host the third Healthy Lung Summit.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the continued success of the Healthy Lung Programme, today AstraZeneca and Business Sweden - The Swedish Trade & Invest Council host the 3rd Heathy Lung Summit, bringing together the Healthy Lung Taskforces from eight Asian countries as well as Swedish and international experts to discuss progress and strategize for 2020.

At the Summit the Healthy Lung Programme partners announced that, since its inception, the programme has:

• Enabled diagnosis of more than 800,000 patients with respiratory disease
• Supported more than 45,000 healthcare professionals and more than 100,000 patients with treatment training and education
• Supported the update and/or creation of 26 national and hospital guidelines
• Supported the activation of more than 1150 respiratory centres of excellence

These efforts are aimed at ensuring that patients have an early and accurate diagnosis of their disease, receive high-quality treatment and are supported with good follow up, which can help increase their quality of life, reduce costly emergency care and reduce avoidable mortality.

The burden of chronic respiratory disease is significant, and many patients go undiagnosed or without good control over their disease. Asthma affects 315 million adults worldwide^[1] and more than 107 million people in Asia Pacific^[2]. However, less than one third of asthmatics worldwide are treated with preventative therapy^[3] and less than ten per cent of COPD patients are seeking treatment^[4].

Going forward, the Healthy Lung Programme aims to expand its impact to benefit more patients with chronic respiratory disease. At the Summit the Healthy Lung Taskforces discussed:

• The need for better data on chronic respiratory disease in Asia-Pacific and its burden on patients, healthcare systems and economic productivity
• The need to treat the underlying cause of the disease rather than the symptoms
• Their intent to improve the impact measurement of Healthy Lung-related activities, through robust data, to prove the effectiveness of respiratory care reform and to expose further opportunities for improvement

The Summit was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in recognition of the Indonesian government's ambitious efforts to implement universal healthcare and improve the treatment of non-communicable diseases, including chronic respiratory care. In that context, Healthy Lung Indonesia has been able to make admirable progress educating patients and healthcare professionals, increasing diagnosis rates and improving access to treatment.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia said, " While the government has been implementing health promotion and disease-prevention activities, the role of Puskesmas in treating asthma patients is very important. At the same time, this will enhance patients' productivity and quality of life. We are delighted to collaborate with our partners to improve treatment management for asthma patients, to improve the quality of healthcare services for broad population."

About the Healthy Lung Programme

The Healthy Lung Programme was established in 2017, when AstraZeneca and governmental, medical and academic partners launched Healthy Lung Taskforces in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Their aim is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer, which are major causes of avoidable mortality, avoidable emergency care expenditure and avoidable loss of economic productivity in Asia-Pacific.

To date, four Healthy Lung programmes have received an endorsement from governments across the Asia-Pacific region and 42 formal partnerships have been formed to improve respiratory care, reaching over close to half a million patients across the region.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca.com and follow us on Twitter @AstraZeneca.