This is who we are
Access Accelerated is a collective of leading biopharmaceutical and life science companies that came together to improve global health by taking action on noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
To achieve that, we knew we needed to challenge the standard philanthropic approach that often leads to piecemeal initiatives that simply don’t last long enough or fail to address the root causes of the problem. Access Accelerated represents a new paradigm that enables our pooled resources and efforts to confront the system-level challenges that lie before us, allowing us to make a greater impact and improve more lives.
Each of our member companies has built its own foundation of successful programs, knowledge, and experience. Drawing on that expertise, innovative R&D, and business acumen has enabled Access Accelerated to become something even greater than the sum of its parts: an instrument for meaningful and lasting change.
Our people
Access Accelerated is guided at all levels by a diverse group of professionals who share a powerful commitment to addressing NCDs around the world.
Executive Committee
The Access Accelerated Executive Committee collaborates with the Access Accelerated Board, which consists of one representative from each member company and serves as our primary strategic decision-making body, to shape our overall vision and direction.
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Sara Martin
Chair
Sara leads strategic collaboration with global health stakeholders with a view to deliver improved patient access.
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Ruth Musila
Vice chair
Ruth Musila is Multilateral Affairs Lead for Takeda’s Global Public Affairs.
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Aura Vilhelmsen
Vice chair
Aura Vilhelmsen is Global Health Equity Lead at Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company working to defeat serious chronic diseases.
Sara Martin
Chair
Sara Martin is Director in the Global Health Equity and Policy Partnerships team at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).
In this role in the BMS Global Policy & Government Affairs function, Sara leads strategic collaboration with global health stakeholders with a view to deliver improved patient access and outcomes in LMICs, health system strengthening and sustainability, and stimulate policy change to secure these gains for the future. In addition, Sara is part of BMS’s internal cross-functional working group devising new access strategies for BMS’s innovative portfolio in LMICs, and is point of contact to Medicines Patent Pool for BMS’s voluntary license portfolio.
Ruth Musila
Vice chair
Ruth Musila is Multilateral Affairs Lead for Takeda’s Global Public Affairs.
Ruth Musila is Multilateral Affairs Lead for Takeda’s Global Public Affairs. She brings a multifaceted perspective, having collaboratively championed solutions to overcome patient access barriers to enhance health outcomes in different sectors through policy shaping and health systems strengthening initiatives. Ruth is an advocate for private-public partnerships striving to expand access to quality healthcare for patients.
Aura Vilhelmsen
Vice chair
Aura Vilhelmsen is Global Health Equity Lead at Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company working to defeat serious chronic diseases.
Aura works with partnerships and initiatives to address the global crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly in low- and middle-income countries, through promoting primary prevention, improving access to NCD care, and advocating for sustainable financing models for NCD interventions.
Aura brings extensive experience from many years at Novo Nordisk working with strategy development, partnerships and programmes for better access to diabetes care for underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries.
Secretariat
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Access Accelerated Secretariat serves as the managing body that implements our programs and activities. This small and diligent team makes operational decisions, shepherds our work from conception to successful implementation, and focuses on enabling Access Accelerated to meet our ambitious goals.
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Herb Riband
Director
Herb works with a select group of organizations that are bringing innovative approaches to global health, healthcare delivery, and healthy aging.
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Thuy Khuc-Bilon
Communications
Thuy is a highly experienced marketing and communications professional with a multifaceted background spanning the arts, education, and public health.
Herb Riband
Director
Herb Riband is the Founder and Principal of InnAxx Consulting, based in Lausanne (Switzerland), where he has lived and worked for over 23 years.
Herb has had a diverse 34-year international career with global leadership roles in multinational enterprises, including Swiss-based roles with multinational corporations Amgen (biotechnology) and Medtronic (medical technology) where he built international market access, healthcare policy and advocacy, government affairs, strategic philanthropy, corporate communications, and law functions.
Thuy Khuc-Bilon
Communications
Thuy Khuc-Bilon is a highly experienced marketing and communications professional with a multifaceted background spanning higher education, the arts, and public health. Her international career includes key roles in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
Over the past seven years, she has dedicated her efforts to global health, serving as the World Cancer Day campaign manager for the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and Communications Manager for the City Cancer Challenge Foundation.
Access Accelerated Knowledge Partners are leading experts who provide vital expertise, insights, and experience, ensuring that our initiatives and programs are strong and successful.
