2015 Methodology Review: targeting key aspects of the Index analysis
The 2015 Methodology Review began in January with a series of checks on the analytical approach used for the 2014 Access to Medicine Index. During the course of the year, the research team will align the methodology with changes in access-to-medicine priorities and how pharmaceutical companies can make products more available, accessible and affordable. The final methodology will be published in November 2015.
Building on past reviewsStakeholder engagement is a central pillar
During the review, strategic guidance is provided by the Expert Review Committee (ERC), an independent body of experts from different stakeholder groups and with a range of insights and perspectives on access to medicine and the role for pharmaceutical companies. During the methodology review, technical advice is provided members of the Technical Sub-Committees, panels of specialists in different aspects of access to medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Before publication, the methodology is ratified by the ERC.
The Index team is also reaching out to a broad range of experts with different expertise and perspectives, including from governments and the global health and investor communities. Many of these consultations are based around specific questions relating to our methodology and analysis. These questions have been defined during an indicator-level stress-test, based on data gathered in 2014.
If you would like to contribute to the 2015 Methodology Review, please contact us at info@atmindex.org with your name, position, organisation and area of interest.
About the Access to Medicine Index
The Access to Medicine Index analyses the top 20 research-based pharmaceutical companies with products for high-burden diseases in low- and middle-income countries. The Index ranks these companies according to their efforts to improve access to medicine in seven areas of corporate behaviour, including pricing, patents, ethical behaviour and donations. It covers 107 low- and middle-income countries and 50 high-burden diseases, and examines eight types of products, from medicines to vaccines to diagnostics. The Index identifies best practices, highlights where progress is being made, and uncovers where critical action is still required. In this way, the Index provides both an incentive and a guide for pharmaceutical companies to do more to improve access to medicine. It is published every two years by the Access to Medicine Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation.
About the Access to Medicine Foundation
The Access to Medicine Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. It aims to advance access to medicine in low- and middle-income countries by stimulating and guiding the pharmaceutical industry to play a greater role in improving access to medicine. The Foundation is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK Department for International Development. For ten years, the Foundation has been building consensus on the role for the pharmaceutical industry in improving access to medicine and vaccines. It published its first benchmark of industry activity in this area in 2008, in the first Access to Medicine Index. The fifth Access to Medicine Index will be published in 2016.