29 November 2016

Coming up: 2016 Access to Medicine Index to launch in UK at Houses of Parliament

On Tuesday 6 December, members of the UK parliament will co-host the UK launch of the 2016 Access to Medicine Index. The event will focus on UK-based pharmaceutical companies and the role of government in improving access to medicine for the world’s poorest.

This invitation-only event provides an opportunity for people in different areas of access to medicine, including the pharmaceutical industry, to discuss the findings of the 2016 Access to Medicine Index. The event will focus on UK-based pharmaceutical companies, and how they are responding to global health priorities. The discussion will center on how such companies can be encouraged to further access to their products for people living in low- and middle-income countries.

The launch will be co-hosted by Wendy Morton MP (Conservative), Baroness Lindsay Northover (Liberal Democrat) and Virendra Sharma MP (Labour). Wendy Morton MP is member of the International Development Committee and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Sustainable Development Goals. Baronness Northover is Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health. Virendra Sharma MP is member of the International Development Committee and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Tuberculosis.

Speakers

  • Dr Jayasree K. Iyer, Executive Director, Access to Medicine Foundation

  • James Wharton MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for International Development (TBC)

  • Sir Andrew Witty, Chief Executive Officer, GlaxoSmithKline plc

  • Marc Mallon, Executive Vice President, Global Product & Portfolio Strategy, Global Medical Affairs & Corporate Affairs, International, AstraZeneca plc

The invited participants are drawn from across the sectors addressing access-to-medicine, including from NGOs, government departments, patient groups, research organisations, investors and the pharmaceutical industry.


About the Access to Medicine Index
The Access to Medicine Index analyses 20 of the world’s largest 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.