Performance by Technical Area

Has a strong access-to-medicine strategy with board-level responsibility. Novartis is one of 14 companies that performs strongly with regard to its access-to-medicine strategy, which includes access-related goals, and aligns with its corporate strategies. The strategy has three objectives focused on low-income markets: the control and elimination of disease; piloting new business approaches and engaging in R&D for unmet needs. The highest level of responsibility for access sits with a board-level committee. 

Financial and non-financial access-related incentives to reward employees. Novartis performs strongly in encouraging employees to work towards access-related objectives. It is one of 14 companies to have both financial and non-financial incentives in place to motivate employees to perform on access-related issues. Non-financial incentives include a global programme recognising associates making significant contributions towards corporate responsibility initiatives. Senior management achievement of access objectives is linked to compensation.  

One of 16 companies working on impact measurement. Novartis measures and monitors progress and outcomes of access-to-medicine activities. It also publicly reports on its commitments, objectives, targets and performance information. For example, for its Malaria Initiative, Novartis reports having provided more than 850 million treatments on a non-profit basis, to more than 60 countries since 2001, contributing to a significant reduction of malaria-related deaths. Furthermore, it is one of the companies that is measuring impact, with Boston University Metrics Framework, for at least one access initiative, e.g. Novartis Access. 

Clear and transparent engagement approach that includes local stakeholders. Novartis publicly discloses which stakeholder groups it engages with on access issues, as well as its process for selecting who to engage with. It selects by conducting a corporate responsibility materiality analysis, including research and surveys with internal and external stakeholders. Local stakeholder perspectives are incorporated into the development of its access strategies. It has some policies covering responsible interactions with stakeholders; namely on prioritising access to healthcare, innovation, patient health and safety, and ethical business practices.

Has measures to ensure third-party compliance with ethical marketing and anti-corruption standards. Novartis has a code of conduct relating to ethical marketing and anti-corruption, and provides regular compliance training for employees. The company provides evidence of having formal processes in place to ensure compliance with standards by third parties. Sales agents' rewards are not solely based on sales targets. Instead, Novartis newly rewards other aspects such as performance, innovation, collaboration, courage and integrity.

Internal control framework meets all Index criteria. Novartis has all the components looked for by the Index for an effective internal control framework to ensure compliance. Namely, it reports that it regularly conducts fraud-specific risk assessments. It has a global risk assessment, and a monitoring system to track compliance. It also has an auditing and review mechanism in place, which apply to third parties. Novartis demonstrates evidence of having procedures to segregate duties, so that decisions are checked by another party.

Above average transparency regarding access-related practices. Novartis publicly discloses its policy positions on access-related topics (e.g., its perspective on corporate responsibility including quality and safety of medicines, intellectual property, and its Access to Healthcare Perspective). The company discloses political contributions in countries in scope. It discloses its membership of relevant institutions and whether it provides financial support. Novartis discloses its policy for responsible engagement through its global policies for Responsible Lobbying and Anti-Bribery; its policies also include access perspective, intellectual property and quality and safety. It does not, however, publicly disclose its policy approach to payments made to healthcare professionals in countries in scope.

Publicly commits to R&D to meet public health needs. Novartis has publicly committed to R&D for diseases and countries in scope. Its R&D strategy for low- and middle-income countries is informed by an evidence-based public health rationale based on public health targets. Further, it has time-bound strategies for completing R&D projects for diseases in scope and evaluates progress toward these targets. Novartis has one of the largest pipelines in the Index with 117 projects. For diseases in scope where priorities exist, Novartis is active in 28 projects; 26 target priority R&D gaps.

Access provisions in place for 25% (9/36) of late-stage candidates. Novartis has a clear process in place to develop access plans during R&D through its Novartis Access Principles. This process considers all R&D projects for diseases in scope. In general, Novartis develops access plans for R&D projects in Phase II of clinical development. To date, Novartis has project-specific access provisions in place for nine of its late-stage R&D projects. Of these, four are being conducted in partnership.

Public policy to ensure post-trial access; commits to registering trialed products. Novartis has a publicly available policy for ensuring post-trial access to treatments for clinical trial participants and has provided a detailed example of this policy in action in countries in scope. The policy is aligned with the standards set in the Declaration of Helsinki. Once a product is approved, Novartis commits to registering it in all countries where clinical trials for the product have taken place.

*Defined as a recommended time frame through consultation with stakeholders during Index methodology development.