Pharmaceutical companies come to Amsterdam: workshop on latest Index methodology

Preparing for the 2016 data-collection cycle
The aim of the workshop is to prepare the companies for the Foundation’s 2016 data-collection process: in February 2016, the Foundation will begin collecting data for the 2016 Access to Medicine Index. Following a staggered process of data submission, clarification and verification, the Index team will identify trends and best practices, benchmarking the access-to-medicine profiles of each company against its peers. The results will be published late next year in the 2016 Access to Medicine Index report.

The workshop will begin with a high-level exploration of the 2015 methodology for the 2016 Access to Medicine Index, followed by deep dives into each measurement area, the expectations for company behaviour, and the key changes in 2016. The 2015 methodology gives greater emphasis to how companies perform: in 2016, 50% of companies’ overall Index scores will depend on what they do in practice. This is the first time since 2012 that the Index has increased the weighting given to performance, and is intended to give recognition to companies that are maturing from commitment-making to action-taking.

“The methodology was developed through careful review, and represents a set of ambitious, yet achievable expectations for pharmaceutical company behaviour regarding access. The world’s poor cannot keep waiting. This tool can be used now to spur further change within companies and across the pharmaceutical industry,” says Jayasree K. Iyer (PhD), Executive Director, Access to Medicine Foundation.

An incentive and a guide for action
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. It 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.

The first Access to Vaccines Index
During the workshop, the methodology for the first Access to Vaccines Index will also be introduced, including the metrics and the aims of this new industry measurement. Developed through consultations with the major players in the vaccines ecosystem, the Access to Vaccines Index will provide an initial baseline of industry activity, a critical first step for stimulating change and increasing accountability. It will publicly recognise the good performers, triggering vaccine companies to join a “race to do well” on access-to-vaccine targets. By examining where and how companies are already taking action, the Index will bring good practices to the attention of other companies and stakeholders, and trigger greater information-sharing.

There will be opportunities throughout the workshop to discuss access-to-medicine strategies, as well as hands-on training on the Foundation’s data-collection platform and the types of data that will be requested in 2016.