Research
Is the industry making progress on improving access to medicine?
18 November 2022
The Access to Medicine Foundation at 76th World Health Assembly
In May 2023, global health leaders will gather in Geneva, Switzerland for the 76th World Health Assembly under the theme “WHO at 75: Saving lives, driving health for all.” The Access to Medicine Foundation will join discussions, sharing expertise and work in promoting accessible, affordable, and equitable healthcare for everyone.
Date
22 May 2023
DATE
22-25 May 2023
LOCATION
Geneva, Switzerland
FORMAT
In-person
The Access to Medicine Foundation will be attending the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland. The Foundation will be participating in a range of events and meetings and will have the opportunity to connect with experts and representatives from various industries and sectors to discuss healthcare and medicine-related topics. Representatives will also be speaking at key events.
The Foundation's team will include:
Jayasree K. Iyer, Chief Executive Officer
Karen Eryou, Head of Industry Engagement
Mary Moehlmann, Engagement Lead for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
Anne-Charlotte Douard, Government Engagement and Policy Officer
The team will address several topics that are critical to the Access to Medicine Foundation's work, as well as share findings and insights from our various programmes and most recent publications:
The 8th Access to Medicine Index provides detailed insights into how 20 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies perform on ensuring people living in LMICs have access to the medicines, vaccines and diagnostics they need. The 2022 Index looks at companies' products and R&D projects for 83 diseases, conditions and pathogens that have been identified as the most critical priorities regarding access to medicine. Companies are assessed, scored and ranked based on 31 metrics spanning R&D, governance, pricing and supply.
In April 2023, we published our first research report as part of our new Medical Oxygen Programme. The report looks at what initiatives gas companies are taking to help address the chronic gaps in access to oxygen in LMICs. We will also be discussing the draft resolution on medical oxygen, using the report to highlight what we know about the current state of access to medical oxygen. We will share our position on the resolution, including what amendments member states could suggest to strengthen it and possibly move companies to do more.
This recently published framework is a first-of-its-kind tool to assess how the companies that make generic and biosimilar medicines perform on ensuring access to these essential medicines in LMICs. The framework also outlines what ‘good practice’ looks like. Later this year, we will be publishing a set of five Company, Profiles, which will be the first analysis carried out using this framework.
Millions of people with diabetes worldwide, but especially those in LMICs, can neither access nor afford the insulin that they need. In 2022, we published a report assessing what the major insulin manufacturers are doing to address access to diabetes care in LMICs, and what more needs to be done to scale up access. In June 2023, we will host a workshop focused on exploring ways to increase access to diabetes medicines and commodities in LMICs.
We will be attending meetings and events related to the global public health threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), in particular to discuss how we work to move the pharmaceutical industry in responding to the growing challenge of drug-resistant infections. Our AMR programme will also be releasing two standalone publications in the second half of 2023.
If you are interested in meeting us or discussing any topic, please reach out to us at acdouard@accesstomedicinefoundation.org
