17 November 2016

2016 Index: from findings to change

Following the publication of the 2016 Access to Medicine Index, the Foundation team has begun a series of meetings and events to discuss its findings with a range of people and organisations working to improve access to medicine for the poorest. This includes a panel discussion at the FT Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Conference in London, followed by investor meetings in London, Paris, Basel and New York.

Role of industry
On Wednesday 16 November, Jayasree K. Iyer, Executive Director, spoke in a panel at the FT Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Conference in London. Her talk addressed the role of the pharmaceutical industry in emerging markets, where barriers to access to medicine are significant. “There is an increased demand for pharma companies to do business differently in emerging markets,” said Jayasree. “Stakeholders are asking companies to take specific steps.” The 2016 Access to Medicine Index, published on Monday 14 November, found that pharmaceutical companies are making moderate progress when it comes to improving access to their products, notably in relation to research & development and pro-access licensing. Progress in other areas, however, is static.

View for investors
On Thursday 17 November, Goldman Sachs hosted an investor briefing about the Index at its London headquarters. In his opening remarks, Keyur Parekh, Executive Director of Pharmaceuticals Global Investment Research at Goldmans Sachs, framed access to medicine as a critical topic for pharma analysts. The Foundation team presented the Ranking and a selection of findings, including on R&D and affordability. The participants included sell-side and buy-side analysts, pharma-sector specialists and ESG-focused investors, as well as representatives of companies measured in the Index. The discussions touched on a wide range of topics, including how companies ranking positions could be informed by their exposure to access-related risks, for example around prices.

Upcoming investor briefings:

New York on Thursday, 1 December, at AllianceBernstein
Zurich on Thursday, 8 December, at Kepler Cheuvreux Stadelhoferstrasse
Paris on Thursday 15 December, at Amundi Asset Management Auditorium

For more information about the events, please contact Suzanne Wolf.

Discussion in the media
The latest ranking of pharmaceutical companies in the 2016 Access to Medicine Index has been covered broadly in the media, including explorations of the findings related to affordability, R&D, capacity building and strategy:

Reuters – Drugmakers improve access for poor, GSK ranked top

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

The BMJ – Drug firms need to tackle affordability

de Volkskrant – Grote farmaceuten doen meer voor armen

Guardian – GSK tops list of drug firms improving global access to medicine

FT – Big Pharma is failing to do enough for poor countries

New York Times – Which drug companies are helping the poor?

Forbes– New Pharma Ranking on Global Access to Medicine Released