PharmAccess Foundation (PharmAccess) has historic links with the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam. In 1990 the Dutch government supported the establishment of the National AIDS Therapy Evaluation Center (NATEC) at the AMC, with the aim to foster and coordinate therapeutic research on HIV/AIDS in the Netherlands. 

The expansion of NATEC’s activities to other countries and regions, including Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, subsequently led to the establishment of the International Antiviral Therapy Evaluation Center (IATEC). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced in the developed world in the mid-nineties and immediately led to dramatic reductions in AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately the millions of infected people in the developing world did not reap those benefits.
Joep Lange, professor of medicine at the AMC, initiated PharmAccess in January 2001 to address this imbalance and bring life-saving antiretroviral therapy to resource-poor settings.

In the first years, PharmAccess focused on collaboration with large international companies. We implemented several HIV/AIDS workplace programs for local operations, providing counselling and treatment for employees and families. 
As it is urgently needed to reach out to larger groups of people, PharmAccess is now broadening its activities towards embedding HIV/AIDS treatment in general health care services and the development of health insurances schemes.

To effectively fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases we choose for a pragmatic approach, that makes optimal use of local potential and utilizes both the private and the public sector. We establish public-private partnerships, in which private sector facilities complement public sector health care in a common response to HIV/AIDS.

Our staff holds an unique combination of people with medical, research and business backgrounds. Together with governments, companies, non-governmental organizations, financial institutions and renowned scientists, PharmAccess makes an effort to provide solutions that last for the future and offer affordable and quality treatment for HIV/AIDS and other diseases for everyone.

PharmAccess is linked to the AMC Center for Poverty-related Communicable Diseases (CPCD).