For investors
Signatory investors gain a whole host of benefits, including:
Direct access to our 10+ analysts who track company activities on a daily basisÂ
Unique analysis and insight on sector-specific ESG risks and opportunitiesÂ
Regular updates on key developments in global health
Participation in collaborative engagements that drive and track company progress
Access to investor events and opportunities for networking and knowledge-sharing
Participation in methodology development for the Access to Medicine Index and Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark
The Foundation is committed to providing its data and analysis free of charge to all stakeholder groups, including investors.
Read our investor statement here.
Join our opportunities for collaborative action
Investors are strongest when they pool their influence. By joining the Foundation's collaborative initiatives, investors can jointly steer investee companies to do better.
SDG3 Collaborative Engagement
This unique opportunity allows investors to collectively drive pharma companies toward the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3: to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. This long-term investor-led engagement uses the Access to Medicine Index to drive and track pharmaceutical company progress and impact on increased access to medicine in LMICs. To date, over 145 investors managing assets of more than USD 22 trillion have committed to use our data and insights. Read our investor statement here.
Investor Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (IAAMR)
Launched in 2020 by the Access to Medicine Foundation, the FAIRR initiative, the Principles for Responsible Investment and the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care, this initiative focuses on the role of capital markets in tackling the global threat of rising drug-resistant infections.
Ahead of the UN General Assembly’s second-ever High-Level Meeting on AMR in September, the IAAMR launched an Investor Statement calling on global leaders and policymakers to combat AMR. It includes seven critical requests, spotlighting solutions to the AMR crisis. The Statement seeks to galvanise investor efforts to address global AMR and is open for signing until 31 December 2024. So far, 80 investors managing USD 13 trillion in assets have signed the Statement. If you would like to become a Statement signatory, please reach out to the Foundation’s Investor Engagement Manager, Suzi van Es at svanes@accesstomedicinefoundation.org.
Pharmaceutical companies have human rights responsibilities in relation to access to medicines. Part of this responsibility relies on the companies’ capacity to ensure that essential products and services reach out patients, and especially, most vulnerable patients, including groups such as children, pregnant women and minorities. In other words, pharmaceutical companies shall identify and assess the needs, vulnerabilities and obstacles to access, implement access plans and strategies with specific measures to ensure patients are effectively reached, adopt indicators to monitor the effectiveness of their policies, be transparent about their programmes and results, and – last, but not least – consult with relevant stakeholders throughout the process. Patient reach is also a material issue for these companies, as in the long-term, prioritizing patient reach will also drive innovation and widen product availability. More robust and transparent patient reach strategies, with clear and defined frameworks and indicators, as presented in Access to Medicine Foundation’s last report, will help investors tracking companies’ performance, both in terms of human rights and materiality, and facilitate investors’ capacity to assess and monitor companies’ strategies, policies and results.
Who is on board?
Leading investors use the Access to Medicine Index
More than 145 institutional investors, accounting for a total of USD 22 trillion in assets under management, use our research to aid in the investment decision-making processes.
Investors play a vital role in improving access to medicineÂ
Issues of access to medicine in low- and middle-income countries can present potentially significant business impacts for essential healthcare companies. By encouraging systematic action to improve access, investors can guide investee companies towards a more sustainable profile. This is vital for the long-term commercial success and viability of companies, as emerging markets and ESG considerations become ever more important.
At the Access to Medicine Foundation, we recognise the power of investors to spur positive progress towards global healthcare equity. Our independent research and data-driven insights provide input for investment decisions, while our investor engagement team are on hand to offer tailored advice and facilitate collaboration.
How we engage with the investor community
Our investor engagement team helps institutional investors to use the Foundation’s findings and analysis to better manage risks and opportunities for essential healthcare companies. We analyse financially material topics for the industry, including how essential healthcare companies approach governance, R&D, pricing and intellectual property management.Â
Through our Access to Medicine Index and Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark, we identify best practices, evaluate company performances and assess industry trends. We regularly publish reports that cover profitable business lines, such as oncology and cardiovascular health, as well as global health priorities such as infectious diseases, including COVID-19.Â
Investors use our data in various ways, including integrating findings into quantitative models and qualitative company assessments, as well as in their interactions with companies. Our team interacts regularly with investors to provide tailored advice and analysis as needed to inform investment decisions. We also help investors to engage essential healthcare companies through roundtable discussions, research launches, collective calls to action and collaborative engagements.
Calls to action from the investor community
A number of our signatories have outlined the value they see in Access to Medicine Index and the Antimicrobial Resistance Benchmark, and why investors should engage:
Australian Ethical: "Access to Medicine: The issue, the Foundation, and the investor call-to-action." Read more. Â
Candriam Investors: "Access to medicines, or how equality has become a central issue for pharma businesses."Â Read more.
Coho Partners: "ESG Insights: The Pandemic, Vaccines, and the importance of Access to Medicine." Read more.Â
Ecofi: "Pharmaceutical companies and access to medicines: what role for investors?''Â Read more.Â
Janus Henderson: ''Access to medicine - the need for innovation, partnerships and data capture.''Â Read more.Â
Rathbone Greenbank Investments: "Antibiotics: Preserving the miracle cure". Read more.
It is up to the investment community to hold [pharma] companies accountable...and to challenge companies over whether they are doing enough to ensure their products are reaching as many people as possible.