The 8th Access to Medicine Index provides detailed insights into how 20 of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies perform on ensuring people living in low- and middle-income countries have access to the medicines, vaccines and diagnostics they need.
Every two years, the Index assesses companies on their performance on priority access-to-medicine topics, while identifying best practices and examples, and highlights areas where progress has been made and areas where critical action is required.
The 2022 Index looks at companies' products and R&D projects for 83 diseases, conditions and pathogens that have been identified as the most critical priorities regarding access to medicine. These 20 companies are assessed, scored and ranked based on 31 metrics spanning R&D, governance, pricing and supply.
What's in the 2022 report?
2022 Ranking
GSK retains the No.1 spot, followed closely by Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca has newly joined the top 3 and Merck the top 5. GSK leads by tailoring access strategies across products and engaging in R&D to develop treatments for diseases that disproportionally affect people living in LMICs.
3 Key Findings
The three most significant findings of the report, including insights on the R&D pipeline for emerging infectious diseases; promising signs in how companies are engaging in voluntary licensing; and access plans and strategies companies are using – or not using – to expand access to more products.
20 Report cards
Detailed performance breakdown for each company, featuring key opportunities for improvement.
19 Best Practices
The strongest actions that pharmaceutical companies are currently taking to enhance access to medicine.
3 Special Reports
Cross-cutting analyses focused on COVID-19 & pandemic preparedness; longitudinal analysis of the industry's performance over time; and women's sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR).
Companies approach access to medicine more systematically, yet show stagnation in some key areas
The Index finds progress in how companies are integrating access to medicine into governance structures, R&D processes, and monitoring efforts. However, despite this progress, low-income countries are still widely overlooked.
"The 2022 Index finds that industry-wide improvement in planning for access and expanding access strategies still overlooks low-income countries. Companies must consider the depths of their plans, strength of their supply chains, and equity of their pricing strategies to reach the most vulnerable populations."
James Hazel
Research Programme Manager for the 2022 Index, Access to Medicine Foundation
