The Methodology for the 2022 Access to Medicine Index

The Methodology Report, which is now available to download, lays out the metrics by which 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies will be assessed and ranked for the 2022 Access to Medicine Index. It captures society’s expectations of pharmaceutical companies regarding access to medicine in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Ahead of the next Index, the research team took a targeted approach towards reviewing the methodology. A variety of experts from across the global health, investor and industry worlds were consulted to introduce refinements to the methodological framework, only where needed.

This continuity within the methodology will facilitate clear comparisons with data and information from the previous Index, enabling more nuanced trend analysis. A small number of considered changes have been made, which are outlined below.

Change and continuity in the Index methodology:

• Shift in weighting: Research & Development has been given greater weighting, moving from 25% to 30%, while Governance of Access has been adjusted downwards. This puts increased focus on indicators that measure outcomes, rather than those which measure polices and processes.

• 20 companies: The Index will continue to cover 20 of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical companies, with the same companies remaining in scope as in 2021.

• 83 diseases: Osteosarcoma and thalassemia have been added to the Index’s analysis, based on stakeholder consensus and the disproportionate burden of these diseases in countries in scope.

• 108 countries: Two additional countries, Algeria and Venezuela, are newly in scope for the next Index.

The Foundation is now gathering data and information for the eighth Access to Medicine Index, which will be published late in 2022.