Access To Medicine Foundation

Often searched

Index ranking

Vacancies

10 year analysis

  • Healthcare inequity
    • How big is the problem?
    • How we drive change
    • Our story
    • Our impact
    • How big is the problem?
    • How we drive change
    • Our story
    • Our impact
  • Become a catalyst
    • Investors
    • Companies
    • Government & policymakers
    • Events & engagements
    • Investors
    • Companies
    • Government & policymakers
    • Events & engagements
  • Sectors and research
    • R&D-based pharma companies
    • Medical gas companies
    • Generic medicine manufacturers
    • Diagnostics companies
    • Vaccine manufacturers
    • Resource centre
    • Company profiles & report cards
    • R&D-based pharma companies
    • Medical gas companies
    • Generic medicine manufacturers
    • Diagnostics companies
    • Vaccine manufacturers
    • Resource centre
    • Company profiles & report cards
  • Cross-Sector Programmes
    • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Diabetes care
    • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Diabetes care
  • On the pulse of global health
    • Access insights
    • The Health Equity podcast
    • Access insights
    • The Health Equity podcast
  • News
  • Our team
  • Featured insights
  • Governance & financials
  • Vacancies
  • Media coverage
  • FAQ
  • Contact us

Date

19 November 2024

Global drugmakers fall behind in efforts to make medicines available in poorer countries

The Guardian reports on the newly launched 2024 Access to Medicine Index, which evaluates how 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies must do more to expand access to essential medicines and treatments, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Direct links

Read the full article

The article begins by highlighting the issue of inadequate attention from pharma companies in addressing healthcare needs, particularly the alarmingly low inclusion of resource-poor populations in clinical trials. Despite LMICs accounting for nearly 80% of the global population, less than half of all clinical trials are conducted in these regions.

Jayasree Iyer, CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation is quoted in the article: “Companies have very clearly said we will register and prioritise registration in countries where the trials are running, but if they don’t run the trials in more areas,… then you’re never going to solve this health equity problem for all the innovative new products.”

The article also highlights another key finding of the 2024 Index: a decline in voluntary licensing activities, which has slowed progress in improving the local availability of new medicines. Voluntary licenses, known for enabling generic manufacturers to produce more affordable versions of drugs, remain an effective yet underutilised strategy for expanding access to essential treatments.

Read now

2024 Access to Medicine Index

Read more

Divya Verma

Head of Communications

dverma@accesstomedicinefoundation.org

Get in touch

Media

Read more about our coverage in global media
Media

Japanese companies struggle due to limited geographical reach

20 November 2024
Media

Op-ed: How equitable access to medicines can drive sustainable returns for investors

19 November 2024
Media

Pharma still ‘falling short’ in providing access to low- and middle-income countries, analysis finds

19 November 2024

Access to Medicine Foundation

Interested in our work?

Access to Medicine Foundation is funded by

Terms & conditions

Privacy & cookie policy

Disclaimer

Copyright 2004 - 2025 Access to Medicine Foundation - All Rights Reserved