Patient centricity: How is the pharma industry addressing patient reach?
This report from the Foundation takes a first-ever look at how some of the largest pharma companies are reaching patients worldwide in pursuit of health equity, unveiling what needs to be done to translate ambitious access commitments into meaningful change for underserved populations.
Pressure is building on the pharmaceutical industry to bridge the gap in healthcare, making lifesaving health products accessible to all patients, regardless of their socioeconomic background or where they live. Ahead of the 2024 Access to Medicine Index, this new report from the Foundation offers an in-depth look at how some of the largest pharmaceutical companies are tracking and reporting the reach of their access efforts, particularly in LMICs. It also examines their public commitments to expanding access to medicine, evaluating these goals based on how measurable, ambitious, and effective they are in addressing disease burdens and unmet health needs in LMICs.Â
By transparently defining, measuring, and reporting the number of patients reached by their products, companies can identify successful strategies and take targeted actions to address disparities, improve health equity, and enhance the lives of underserved populations. When these efforts are paired with clear and ambitious goals—specifying the exact number of patients to be reached and the timeline for doing so—companies can more effectively track progress and ensure their initiatives have a meaningful impact.
The Access to Medicine Foundation's report outlines how the pharma industry approaches patient reach today and urges pharma companies to expand access to effective treatments to reach underserved patients in Africa, which is a call to action that I share as a medical practitioner and patient advocate.
Franklin Mtei
Global Patient Advocate, Inspire2Live
What’s in the report?
Spotlight on patient reach approaches
The report outlines the various approaches taken by the 20 large research-based companies in scope of the forthcoming 2024 Index, highlighting the elements considered in their calculations, the access activities they measure in terms of patient reach, and the scope of product and country coverage.Â
A closer look at public commitments
Many pharmaceutical companies set ambitious goals and make public commitments to expand their global patient reach, particularly in LMICs. The report features a section dedicated to these goals, focusing on the specific diseases they aim to address, their measurability, and their level of ambition in relation to diseases with high global burdens.Â
Five key findings
The Foundation’s assessment shows that, overall, they are engaging in efforts to measure patient reach. While some of these approaches are newly developed, others have evolved from the groundwork laid by companies through access programmes and initiatives implemented in LMICs over the years. Five findings from this assessment highlight positive developments in the industry, as well as areas needing improvement going forward.Â
Recommendations
The report identifies opportunities and offers recommendations for the assessed companies, highlighting actionable steps to expand their efforts in measuring and tracking patient reach.Â
While this report provides broader insights into pharmaceutical companies’ practices, the forthcoming 2024 Access to Medicine Index report will further evaluate product-specific examples of patient reach and score companies as part of the overall Index analysis.Â
Pharmaceutical companies have human rights responsibilities in relation to access to medicines. Part of this responsibility relies on the companies’ capacity to ensure that essential products and services reach out patients, and especially, most vulnerable patients, including groups such as children, pregnant women and minorities. In other words, pharmaceutical companies shall identify and assess the needs, vulnerabilities and obstacles to access, implement access plans and strategies with specific measures to ensure patients are effectively reached, adopt indicators to monitor the effectiveness of their policies, be transparent about their programmes and results, and – last, but not least – consult with relevant stakeholders throughout the process. Patient reach is also a material issue for these companies, as in the long-term, prioritizing patient reach will also drive innovation and widen product availability. More robust and transparent patient reach strategies, with clear and defined frameworks and indicators, as presented in Access to Medicine Foundation’s last report, will help investors tracking companies’ performance, both in terms of human rights and materiality, and facilitate investors’ capacity to assess and monitor companies’ strategies, policies and results.
Camille Bisconte de Saint Julien
Human Rights and Social Analyst and Direction Solutions ISR, La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBP AM)
