GSK, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have topped the latest Access to Medicines Index, which ranks the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies for their efforts to improve access to medicines worldwide.
It is the eighth consecutive time that GSK has topped the list for its strategy to improve drug delivery, which applies to both R&D and bringing products to market.
The 2022 index says that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, more companies are dealing with drug supply in low- and middle-income countries. For 77 percent of projects at the end of their R&D pipeline, companies now have plans to introduce accessibility after product launch, compared to just 40 percent in the 2021 index.
Source: Access to Medicine Foundation
Three more companies in the top 20 now have at least one licensing agreement, allowing patented products to be offered for general manufacturing.
The index is Published biennially since 2008, it is the Access to Medicines Foundation in the Netherlands, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, AXA Investment Managers and the Foreign Office of the Netherlands and the UK. .
Assess access gaps
Ashling Mulvaney, vice president of sustainability and access to healthcare at AstraZeneca, explains why the list is important: “The Access to Medicines Index is the longest-running independent assessment of the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to improve access to medicines at low- and middle-income levels. Income countries. It ranks the companies, tracks progress, identifies best practice, and shows where action is needed to improve access to medicines for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Mulvaney added: “We value the insights and guidance provided by the Access to Medicines Foundation as part of this index. Their understanding is aligned with our core values of ‘putting patients first’.
AstraZeneca scored well in all three areas of the index, particularly in its approach to patent transparency, sharing the most intellectual property assets with third-party researchers.
A strategy aimed at improving access to medicines
Among the 20 companies listed, AstraZeneca was the leader in terms of product offering by implementing targeted access strategies to countries with different incomes.
Mulvaney commented: “Access to healthcare is a key sustainability pillar in our company’s strategy. Of particular note, we were recognized as an industry leader in the Product Delivery category. In this category, we are credited with implementing customized access strategies across all product categories that reflect their revenue levels. We are recognized for our approach to patent transparency and intellectual property sharing to ensure sustainable access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries using technology transfer.
The index describes AstraZeneca’s new and improved existing participatory business models to improve supply chain capabilities. Mulvaney added, “The Index recognizes AstraZeneca’s environmental capacity building initiatives and use of all business models aimed at meeting the access needs of the population at the base of the income pyramid.”
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