Which drug makers do a good job getting poor patients access to their medicines?

In the Pharmalot column, Ed Silverman reports on the companies at the top of the 2016 Access to Medicine Index, quoting Foundation Executive Director, Jayasree K. Iyer, on where there are still opportunities to do more.

The pharmaceutical industry is regularly chastised for failing to do enough to ensure that people in low and middle-income countries have access to its medicines. Yet the real picture is actually more nuanced, according to a newly released report that finds some — but not all — drug makers are making headway.

Some companies, for instance, are partnering to develop needed medicines. Others are pledging to waive or abandon patent rights and granting licenses so that generic versions of their drugs become available.

At the same time, the report finds that much more can be done.