Our Journey
Where we came from
In 1996 Axios’ current CEO, Joseph Saba, a Lebanese/French infectious diseases doctor, was working for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The big challenge was the lack of access to affordable anti-retrovirals (ARVs) in developing countries and a lack of knowledge of how best to deliver HIV treatments in low-resource situations. Saba and Irish businessman, Brian Elliot, started negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry to achieve something previously unheard of: a much lower set of ARV prices for developing countries. In 1997 they launched the first-ever ARV programs in four developing countries: Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Vietnam andUganda (first ARV program in Africa). These pioneering programs proved that ARV treatment could be delivered safely and effectively in these settings and opened the door for subsequent price reductions and ARV initiatives in other developing countries.
The creation of Axios
This groundbreaking approach to improving access to drugs and healthcare in developing countries lead to the creation of Axios (ancient Greek for "worthy"). The consultancy company, Axios International, was founded in 1997 to further expand this work. 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 headed the non-profit Axios Foundation.
By 1999, Axios had six committed professionals with a strong vision of improving access to healthcare in developing countries by bridging public and private sector interests. Today the company consists of over 130 committed and highly qualified professionals of more than 20 nationalities, with offices in 11 countries.
Heads, hearts and hands...
Today, the challenge is still to increase access to life-saving drugs and healthcare services for patients in low- and middle-income countries. But Axios’ work has expanded beyond HIV to other chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. As in its pioneering ARV projects, 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.