Assessing pharma companies’ response to COVID-19 and the threat of future pandemics

The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous consequences globally, not least in LMICs. It has shown the pharmaceutical industry’s capacity to quickly bring products to market, but has also highlighted the inequitable distribution of new vaccines and therapeutics. 

This 12-page Special Report, available for download as an extract from the 2022 Index, covers a critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on data from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2022.

The report first looks at how companies responded in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic by rapidly engaging in research and development (R&D) to develop products targeting COVID-19. It then analyses how companies perform in terms of registering their COVID-19 products in LMICs, and considers their use of access strategies for vaccines and treatments to ensure wider access in LMICs, such as their pricing strategies and their engagement in supranational procurement initiatives. It looks at whether – and where – companies engaged in voluntary licensing agreements and technology transfers to enable generic supply of their products.

Finally, with an eye to the future, the Special Report assesses companies' efforts to prepare for future epidemics and pandemics, and provides insights into the question: are the lessons of COVID-19 being learned?