Pharma firms missing potential in low- and middle-income markets

AfricaLogistics reports on the release of the 2024 Access to Medicine Index, highlighting that the current pace of the pharmaceutical industry’s progress in closing access gaps is falling short of growing healthcare needs in underserved countries.

The 2024 Access to Medicine Index, which ranks 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to improve access to essential medicines in in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), makes specific recommendations for companies in making their business models more inclusive to underserved regions.

The article provides a detailed breakdown of five large pharmaceutical companies in scope of the report that already have inclusive business models in place, noting the types of products included in each of their models and the geographic coverage of these products. Relatedly, it points out the need for further investment by companies in non-communicable diseases, which burden LMICs disproportionately.

Highlighting a major theme of the report, the article reiterates that while large pharmaceutical companies’ access-to-medicine strategies have been shown to reduce access gaps in low- and middle-income countries, the expansion of these approaches is needed to address ongoing access issues for patients living in LMICs in the long-term.