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Are drug companies making good on their access promises?
10 September 2024
Date
10 September 2024
Pharma is still struggling to widen access to medicines - and reach patients - in low- and middle-income countries
In a recent article for STAT, Ed Silverman highlights the Access to Medicine Foundation's latest report, which examines the efforts made by pharmaceutical companies to improve patient reach, revealing varied outcomes across the industry.
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The article highlights that many pharmaceutical companies set ambitious goals and make public commitments to expand their global patient reach, The analysis, conducted by the Access to Medicines Foundation, shows that while 19 of the world’s 20 largest drugmakers have implemented methods to expand access, only nine have developed comprehensive strategies. Furthermore, inconsistencies in measuring patient reach and transparency in reporting hinders progress.
The article also highlights the issue of health disparities, drawing increasing pressure from patient and consumer advocates for companies to rethink their strategies. This has sparked heated debates over pricing and patent rights for a wide range of medicines globally.
“There’s a big gap between what the companies say and what they do,” the article quotes Jayasree K. Iyer, CEO of the Foundation, “And this gap will continue for years to come if they don’t embed stronger approaches across their businesses — and do so for every product and in every country.”
