Big Pharma companies routinely say they're working on boosting drug access worldwide, but, every other year, the Access to Medicine Foundation publicly calls out shortcomings in their efforts.
While there is certainly progress being made across the industry, there’s plenty more work to do to improve access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries, according to the group's new report this week.
The Access to Medicine Foundation publishes its access index (PDF) every other year, ranking 20 of the world’s largest pharma companies on their progress. Specifically, the rankings highlight access to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics in 108 lower-income countries, focusing on 83 high-burden diseases.
For the eighth time in a row, GSK topped the list. The index lauded GSK's agreement with Gavi and UNICEF to supply its malaria vaccine for routine child immunization in endemic countries, plus the company's June announcement that it committed 1 billion pounds sterling over the next decade to speed R&D on infectious diseases that disproportionately impact lower-income countries.
Emma Walmsley, GSK’s CEO, said in a recent statement that the company's R&D pipeline is the “largest in the industry” targeting priority diseases for global health. Along with receiving the top ranking, GSK unveiled a 100 million pound investment over the next decade to “help build stronger health systems and access” in lower-income countries.
GSK topped Johnson & Johnson, the second company in the rankings, by a narrow margin. J&J came in third in the last index, published in 2020.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca is a new entry in the top three, climbing from seventh place in the 2020 index. Novartis and Merck KGaA rounded off the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively. In another huge improvement, Bayer joined the top 10 after improving its R&D performance.
While the foundation noted progress throughout the industry, gaping holes remain. The industry is largely not preparing for emerging infectious diseases, with only five out of the 20 companies participating in R&D in this area. The pipeline for projects that cover emerging infectious diseases, aside from COVID-19, remains largely empty, and the few that exist target a small number of diseases that are not considered capable of triggering the next serious epidemic.
Eli Lilly came in dead last in the rankings. AbbVie, Merck & Co., Daiichi Sankyo and Astellas rounded out the bottom five.
The index is independently funded and receives funds from the U.K. and Dutch governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust and AXA Investment Managers.