Pharma companies must prioritise patient reach, report says

In an article for Outsourcing Pharma, Liza Laws discusses the latest report from the Access to Medicine Foundation, which examines how major pharmaceutical companies are working to ensure that essential healthcare products are accessible to all patients.

The article begins by summarising the key insights from the report, which examines 42 different strategies employed by 20 pharmaceutical companies to assess how effectively they reach patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with essential medicines.

It then highlights the critical issue identified in the report: despite LMICs representing 80% of the global population, patients in these regions still face significant obstacles in accessing healthcare products. While demand is growing, supply remains constrained due to production being concentrated among a few companies or single suppliers. The report underscores the need for these companies to refine their goals, making them more specific and actionable to drive real impact.

Furthermore, the article stresses the need for companies to turn patient reach data into concrete actions, such as enhancing product registration, optimising pricing strategies and improving supply chain