Johannesburg – Aspen Pharmacare, (“Aspen”), the South African subsidiary of the Aspen Group, a global speciality and branded multinational pharmaceutical company, has partnered with PinkDrive NPC, a recognised leader in cancer screening and awareness, to contribute towards the funding of a new mobile cancer screening clinic.

The fourth mobile clinic in the PinkDrive fleet will bring critical gender-related cancer screening to rural and peri-urban disadvantaged communities that don’t have immediate access to medical facilities.

Stavros Nicolaou, Aspen Group Senior Executive Strategic Trade, said, “Our country and continent is experiencing a curve in non-communicable diseases, (“NCD”) and cancers are one of the most prominent contributors to this surge.  If left un-arrested, NCD’s will eventually overwhelm our healthcare system with broader dire economic, social and societal consequences.  Many concerns can be managed and/or treated through early detection and intervention.  Early screening in particular remains highly effective.  As an organisation highly committed to and invested in positively contributing to solving among the most intractable of public health challenges, Aspen is privileged to partner Pink Drive in delivering a fully equipped mobile clinic that will assist resource-constrained and underfunded communities in confronting the scourge of cancer.  These patients usually only receive access to treatment when they are diagnosed at a highly advanced stage of disease, mostly with limited prospect of survival, with the oblivious devastating consequences on families.”

The PinkDrive fleet of cancer screening mobile clinics provides mammograms and clinical breast examinations, pap smears, PSA testing for prostate cancer and education on breast, cervical, prostate and testicular cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women worldwide and is estimated to affect one in eight women.  If caught early and treated appropriately, the prognosis is excellent. In South Africa, HPV infections and cervical cancer also pose significant public health challenges. Despite existing interventions, the delay in testing often results in missed treatment opportunities, exacerbating the burden of gender-related cancer in the country.

“PinkDrive aims to address this crisis with our unique mobile cancer screening units which contain state-of-the-art screening equipment managed by specialised medical personnel who are empathetic to the difficulties experienced in the community and how to address issues in local languages at various education levels allows us to have a measurable impact on our beneficiaries. With support from our funders, we can extend our fleet of trucks to reach more people in more areas,” explains Noelene Kotschan, CEO and Founder of PinkDrive NPC.

Durban – JSE Limited listed Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited (“Aspen”), a global specialty and branded pharmaceutical company, is celebrating its 14^th consecutive year of Group-wide participation in

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Stephen Saad, Aspen Group Chief Executive said, “ Aspen has a track record of improving access to healthcare to all patients but more particularly the most vulnerable among us. This spirit of care extends beyond healthcare to many socio-economic development (“SED”) initiatives. We have so many challenges to address, that it can seem overwhelming. However, with one step at a time, we can move forward. Today, ��we celebrate serving more than 910 000 individuals through projects across more than 40 countries, and I honour our employees who are at the very heart of making a difference and who are the heroes of our Mandela Day programme. With every 10^th person in the world impacted by poverty^[1], we recognise that every effort, no matter how big or small, offers a promise of hope to those in need.”

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“We remain committed to an unwavering humanitarian spirit and actions that demonstrate generosity, humility and care and encourage others to join us and help make a difference to the most vulnerable among us,” added Saad.

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, recognised as the Group’s flagship SED campaign, was initiated in 2011 and has focused on partnering with worthy beneficiaries across the six continents where Aspen has a business presence. The programme has assisted in providing relief to abandoned, neglected, orphaned or abused babies, children and women; the elderly, hungry and homeless; individuals inflicted with mental wellness challenges; students who strive to achieve academically; those who are disabled; victims of political conflict; residents at social rehabilitation institutions; healthcare facility patients who need support and equipment; environmental and climate challenges; and inequality, among others.

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^[1] https://ourworldindata.org/poverty

Johannesburg, South Africa – Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited (“Aspen”), a global multinational specialty pharmaceutical company, has presented a state-of-the-art high performance wheelchair to South African wheelchair tennis star Donald Ramphadi.

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Ramphadi, a French-open double quads champion and a prominent figure in wheelchair tennis, reached his at the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships in January 2024. He is undeterred by his impaired mobility and his by the International Tennis Federation is testament to his talent.

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On the occasion of the presentation, Stavros Nicolaou, Aspen Senior Executive Strategic Trade said, “Aspen is honoured to support Donald Ramphadi ahead of his 2024 season when he takes to international courts to defend his title at the Paris Paralympics in France, among many others. We also laud Donald for his nomination in the 2024 Sportsman of the Year with a Disability category. In recent years we recognized Donald’s exceptional athletic talent, his unwavering dedication to wheelchair tennis and his dreams of bringing back gold for South Africa. Aspen subsequently facilitated the customisation and provision of a state-of-the-art high performance wheelchair tailored to his unique requirements to assist him in reaching his athletic goals. This action endorses Aspen’s commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and the empowerment of athletes with disabilities. It is also aligned to our philosophy of embracing sports, arts and culture as powerful unifiers to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce the disease burden on our healthcare system.”

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An overjoyed Donald Ramphadi said, “I am so grateful for this generous donation from Aspen which is a major boost ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympics in France. I’ve previously played in matches where I’ve had to retire my lead because of my wheelchair which naturally shattered many dreams. I’m excited about this wheelchair and I’m more determined than ever to up my game and take everything that I can in the upcoming tournaments that I compete in.”��

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Johannesburg, South Africa – Aspen Pharmacare, Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company, has announced continued humanitarian support to Ukraine, confirming further donations of critical care products to treat hospitalized patients who have been impacted by the ongoing conflict in that country.

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Stavros Nicolaou, Aspen Group Senior Executive Strategic Trade, said, “Aspen is highly sensitised to the human suffering that war and conflict brings and which has had a devastating impact on innocent civilians. We are pleased to announce that we are further extending our support to Ukrainian victims of the present-day conflict with much needed pharmaceutical products and we are in the process of despatching additional supplies of Fraxiparine (for emergency surgeries) and Alkeran (for cancer) to treat patients in Ukrainian hospitals. We remain committed to providing ongoing humanitarian relief to victims of both natural and manmade disasters as may be necessary.”

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Aspen recently hosted His Excellency, former President of the Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko during an official visit to South Africa. On this occasion he said, “I am deeply grateful to Aspen for the invaluable humanitarian support provided to the people of Ukraine at this very tragic time. Aspen has helped countless Ukrainians with generous donations of life-saving critical care medicines. Aspen’s ongoing support reaffirms their understanding of the horrors of war, and demonstrates their unwavering care for innocent patients who are in desperate need of pharmaceutical products. I thank Aspen for their contributions to date as well as their commitment to�� providing more products to treat our patients.”��

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One of the more important initiatives in this humanitarian collaboration with Her Excellency Ambassador and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to South Africa, Liubov Abravoitova, concerns donations of Alkeran primarily used for the treatment of paediatric cancer patients at the Odessa Filatov Institute of Ophthalmology. She said, “We thank Aspen for its solidarity with Ukrainian people and support to Ukraine with donations of life-saving medicines, as well as for its cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in South African in humanitarian projects.” Aspen’s latest Alkeran donation has been expedited specifically to assist in the treatment of a six year old patient who is at risk of losing her only eye.

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In March 2022 Aspen dontated life-saving medicines for 62��000 surgeries in Ukraine and also helped to evacuate South African medical students who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine.

Durban – JSE Limited listed Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited (“Aspen”), a global specialty and branded pharmaceutical company, is participating in Mandela Day for the 13th consecutive year with more than 60 activities in 23 countries.

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Stephen Saad, Aspen Group Chief Executive said, “Now, more than ever, communities globally are in desperate need of various forms of aid. They are deeply reliant on non-governmental organisations, the corporate sector, private non-profit organisations and local communities. Global poverty, social, political and environmental challenges coupled with limited healthcare resources are only a few of the hardships that desperate citizens are facing on unprecedented levels. Our employees have embraced Aspen’s Mandela Day campaign since we first launched our initiative in 2011 and we have remained committed to demonstrating an unwavering humanitarian spirit of generosity, humility and care for those who are less fortunate. During 2023 we will reach 865 000 beneficiaries since first engaging in Mandela Day, with activities focused on addressing poverty, confronting climate change and contributing to alleviating inequality. Our Mandela Day campaign has become our Group flagship socio-economic development initiative, and our employees are the heroes behind this effort. I am again encouraged to note the heartfelt commitment of Aspen’s teams from 23 countries who deliver on our purpose to improve health and quality of life of patients (and marginalised citizens) through this campaign.”

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Through Mandela Day, we live our ethos of Healthcare. We Care as we partner with a range of beneficiaries across 6 continents. These causes provide relief for abandoned, neglected, orphaned or abused babies, children and women; the elderly, hungry and homeless; individuals battling mental wellness challenges; students who yearn to be educated; those who are disabled; victims of political conflict; residents at social rehabilitation institutions; healthcare facility patients who are in dire need of support and equipment; environmental and climate challenges; and inequality, among others.

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Read more about Aspen’s Mandela Day activities at , follow us on , or .

Johannesburg – Aspen, a leading global specialty and branded multinational pharmaceutical company, has positively responded to humanitarian calls for relief following the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, along with a series of strong tremors and aftershocks, that tore through southeast Turkey and northwest Syria on 6 February 2023.

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Stavros Nicolaou, Aspen Group Senior Executive Strategic Trade Development said, “Aspen has a reputation of responding to regional pandemics and humanitarian crises, both in our country and internationally. This is consistent with our core business philosophies of building sustainable communities where we have a presence and providing humanitarian relief to communities impacted by catastrophic events. The earthquakes experienced in both Syria and Turkey have devastated families and communities and inflicted significant human suffering. At these times we need to demonstrate a spirit of Ubuntu and stand in solidarity with vulnerable societies as we have done in the past. Aspen has responded by donating humanitarian relief in the form of critical care medicines which are used in emergency surgeries as well as thousands of blankets to ward off freezing conditions that are leading to patients contracting infections and becoming severely ill from hypothermic complications.”

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Her Excellency��Ms Aysegul Kandas, Turkish Ambassador to South Africa, said, “On behalf of the government and people of Türkiye, I express my heartfelt appreciation for the outpouring of support and generosity from Aspen Pharmacare and the people of South Africa in response to the recent disaster that has befallen our country. Your donations of medicines, blankets, and other humanitarian relief items will provide much-needed aid to those affected by this tragedy. Your kindness and compassion have given us hope during this difficult time and I hope that this action will inspire others to join us in our efforts to help those in need. ��I believe that efforts like these will further strengthen the friendly ties between the peoples of Türkiye and South Africa.”

Aspen confirmed that the critical care medicines and blankets are on route to Turkey and are expected to arrive in that country in due course. Aspen has a strong business presence in the Middle East and also distributes a range of pharmaceutical products in this territory.��

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Aspen has engaged in similar relief efforts by donating life-saving medicines to treat 62��000 patients in the Ukraine and also repatriating 25 South African students who were stranded in that country at the onset of the war. It also donated thousands of medicines to Lebanon during the gas explosion that decimated parts of Beirut. Domestically, Aspen significantly contributed to restoring medical services in KwaZulu-Natal (“KZN”) following the rioting and looting that took place in that province in July 2021, and it has provided relief to victims of flooding in KZN where communities were devastated by natural disasters.