2022 Access to Medicine Index
Explore in detail how the pharmaceutical companies perform on Access to Medicine Index and AMR Benchmark
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GSK plc |
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4.06 | |
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Johnson & Johnson |
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4.03 | |
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7
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AstraZeneca plc |
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3.93 | |
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Novartis AG |
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3.87 | |
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Merck KGaA |
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3.72 | |
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6
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Pfizer Inc |
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3.62 | |
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Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd |
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3.51 | |
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Sanofi |
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3.47 | |
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13
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Bayer AG |
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3.36 | |
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10
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Roche Holding AG |
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3.23 | |
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Novo Nordisk A/S |
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2.97 | |
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Eisai Co, Ltd |
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2.95 | |
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Boehringer Ingelheim |
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2.93 | |
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14
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Gilead Sciences |
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2.84 | |
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Bristol Myers Squibb |
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2.60 | |
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14
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Astellas Pharma Inc |
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2.46 | |
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17
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Daiichi Sankyo Co, Ltd |
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2.20 | |
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Merck & Co, Inc |
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2.15 | |
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AbbVie Inc |
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1.84 | |
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Eli Lilly & Co |
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1.79 |
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In the 2021 Index, dense ranking was used. In the 2022 Index, standard competitive ranking is used. Therefore, a direct comparison with the previous ranks of AbbVie, Astellas, Bristol Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly and Merck & Co, Inc (MSD) is not possible.
The ranking above shows the position and score of each company in the 2022 Index (left) and 2021 Index (right). Click on a company's name to go to its full report card.
Insights
GSK tops the ranking
GSK retains the number one spot, followed closely by Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca has newly joined the top three. Merck joins the top five, and Bayer rises into the top ten.
Report Cards highlight next steps
The Index includes a set of 20 Report Cards that provide detailed overviews of each company’s performance, and outline specific opportunities for improvement tailored to each company.
Some progress, some stagnation
There are signs of progress across the industry, with more pharmaceutical companies taking an increasingly systematic approach to access to medicine. However, progress is not uniform in all areas. For example, there have been limited changes in R&D pipeline.
Subrankings
Governance of Access
The top spot is held by Pfizer. The company provides evidence of well-established structures of governance and management, with responsibility assigned and access-to-medicine incentives offered at the highest level, It takes a strong approach to ensuring ethical business practices, and also has stringent compliance processes across its operations. Joint for second place are AstraZeneca, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Takeda.
Research & Development
The top spot is retained by GSK, followed closely by Johnson & Johnson and Novartis. Out of all 20 companies, GSK has the largest number of projects in development that target priority diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. Johnson & Johnson and Novartis also engage in R&D for priority diseases, with both companies having access plans for LMICs covering all late-stage R&D projects in the pipeline.
Product Delivery
AstraZeneca takes the top spot in Product Delivery, leading in its approach to patent transparency and sharing of intellectual property assets. It has made progress by licensing and transferring technology for its COVID-19 vaccine. GSK and Johnson & Johnson complete the top three, performing well across all assessment criteria, including equitable access strategies. Novartis comes 4th; notably, in 2022 it became the first company to agree to a non-exclusive voluntary licence for a medicine to treat a non-communicable disease.
Ranking Analysis
Four companies stand out as leaders
In the 2022 Index, GSK retains the number one spot, followed closely by Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca has risen to third, with Novartis in fourth. These four companies are the clear leaders among the companies assessed by the Index...
GSK (1st) tops both the overall ranking and the R&D sub-ranking. The company develops treatments and vaccines for diseases that disproportionally affect people in LMICs. It is also in the top three of the other two Technical Areas, and its access-to-medicine strategy is central to its approach to ensuring that medicines reach those that need them most.Â
Johnson & Johnson (2nd) demonstrates strong performance in all three Technical Areas and performs well across all assessment criteria including access strategies, R&D access planning and capacity building.
AstraZeneca (3rd) has newly joined the top three, ranking as the number one company in the Product Delivery Technical Area by excelling in its approach to patent transparency and technology transfers. The company also performs highly in Governance of Access. Novartis (4th) performs well in R&D access planning and equitable access strategies and was the first company to agree a non-exclusive voluntary licence covering a product for a non-communicable disease.
High-performing companies
The companies ranked 5th to 10th are high performers on access to medicine, competing closely in the overall ranking. Merck (5th) excels in R&D access planning, with access plans in place for all late-stage R&D projects and performs strongly its approach to patent transparency. Pfizer (6th) leads in Governance of Access for its approach to incentivising responsible promotional practices. Takeda (7th) is a top performing company in R&D access planning and equitable access strategies for products that are administered by healthcare practitioners...
Sanofi (8th) performs well in engaging in supranational procurement mechanisms to supply products in LMICs they also engage in R&D neglected diseases that disproportionally affect people in poorer countries. Bayer (9th) has joined the top ten, improving its performance in R&D access planning and demonstrating best practice with the broad geographic reach of its plans. Roche (10th) engages in high quality health system strengthening initiatives and has improved in its approach to R&D access planning.
Middle-performing companies
Novo Nordisk (11th) has strong policies governing access and builds capacity by engaging in health systems strengthening. Eisai (12th) has an average performance overall across the three Technical Areas, with a particularly strong performance in long-term product donations. Boehringer Ingelheim (13th) has an average performance in the Technical Areas, but has introduced a comprehensive new framework for R&D access planning, and performs well in expanding access via inclusive business models...
Gilead (14th) is a leading company in non-exclusive voluntary licensing, but its performance in R&D and Governance of Access is below average. Bristol Myers Squibb (15th) has greatly improved its ranking this year, strengthening its performance in Product Delivery through engaging in health systems strengthening and access strategies. In R&D it is carrying out several clinical trials in countries in scope and commits to registering successful R&D candidates in those countries.Â
Low-performing companies
The bottom of the ranking is rounded out by five companies whose performance is below average for much for criteria assessed by the Index. Astellas (16th) has strengthened its access planning processes during R&D and has comparatively strong policies in place for Governance of Access, but falls behind its peers in applying equitable access strategies to its products in LMICs. Daiichi Sankyo (17th) performs relatively well in intellectual property (IP) sharing, but lags in all Technical Areas...
MSD (18th) has improved in R&D with the introduction of a new access planning policy. Yet is has a comparatively poor performance in the other two Technical Areas, Governance of Access and Product Delivery, and is among the least transparent companies in scope. AbbVie (19th) scores poorly across all Technical Areas but particularly lags in R&D, in both product development and R&D access planning. Eli Lilly (20th) performs poorly, ranking in the bottom five in all three Technical Areas. The company chooses not to disclose information across a range of issues, nor to make relevant information available in the public domain.
How companies were assessed in the 2022 Index
The 2022 Access to Medicine Index assesses 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies in relation to their efforts to expand access to medicine for people living in 108 low- and middle-income countries. It looks at 83 diseases, conditions and pathogens, which have been identified as the most critical priorities. Companies are scored and ranked based on 31 indicators which are spread across three Technical Areas: Governance of Access, Research & Development, and Product Delivery.
