Pharmaceutical companies are becoming more organised in their approach and the Index leaders are increasingly coming to view access as a strategic issue. Access to medicine has landed in more boardrooms.

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The industry is doing more to improve access to medicine than it was doing in 2010. Seventeen out of the 20 companies saw their scores increase and more companies have joined the ranks of the leaders.

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Few companies report having robust measures to ensure clinical trials conducted by contractors are safe and ethical, with the majority providing no evidence of exerting real influence over the way their contractors conduct trials.

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More companies are developing more products, and some now devote 20% of their pipeline to developing new products and adapting existing ones to address the needs of the poor.

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More companies are using tiered pricing schemes, and applying them to a broader range of products and in more countries, but it is unclear whether the price reductions are enough to meaningfully increase affordability.

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GlaxoSmithKline remains top of the league table, but its lead is shrinking, with two newcomers, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, moving into the top three closely behind and more companies joining the ranks of the leaders. The industry as a whole is gradually progressing.

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The Access to Medicine Index 2012

Ranking 2012

Latest News

Foundation brings companies together to discuss access strategies

3 May 2013 |

On May 7th, 2013, the Access to Medicine Foundation will host a Strategic Access to Medicine Workshop for high-level representatives from the top 20 pharmaceutical companies covered in the Access to Medicine Index.

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2013: Focus on methodology

10 April 2013 |

After the launch of the 2012 Access to Medicine Index in November 2012, the Foundation officially entered a new ‘Index cycle’, the two-year process culminating in the publication of the next Access to Medicine Index.

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Open invitation for feedback: 2012 Access to Medicine Index

12 February 2013 |

The Access to Medicine Foundation invites you to share your thoughts about the 2012 Access to Medicine Index in our short online survey.

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Foundation strengthens in-house research capacity

29 January 2013 |

In a drive to strengthen our in-house research capacity for the coming Access to Medicine Index cycles, the Foundation has recently appointed Jayasree Iyer as new Head of Research.

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What Leaders Say

Dr. Margaret Chan
Director-General, World Health Organization
"The Access to Medicine Index is a very important project. What gets measured, gets done."
Bill Gates
Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
"When I talk to executives from pharmaceutical companies they tell me that they want to do more for neglected diseases, but they at least need to get credit for it. The Access to Medicine Index does exactly that."
Knut Kjaer
Former CEO of RiskMetrics Group, Former CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) (1997-2007)
"Companies are beginning to understand that the value of corporate social responsibility programmes is not only the opportunity to do the right thing but that it's good for business as well. The Access to Medicine Index provides companies with a chance to improve performance and explore new business models while helping societies in need."

In the Media

The Lancet News interviews co-author of the Access to Medicine Index on 2012 findings

30 November 2012 |

The Lancet's Dara Mohammadi speaks to David Sampson, one of the authors of the 2012 Access to Medicine Index, about the 2012 Index findings.

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Kaiser Family Foundation Global Health Policy Report features the 2012 Access to Medicine Index

28 November 2012 |

The Kaiser Family Foundation presents the main findings of the 2012 Access to Medicine Index as part of its Daily Global Health Policy Report. 

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NOS interviews Wim Leereveld about the 2012 Access to Medicine Index

28 November 2012 |

Dutch national news broadcaster NOS interviews Wim Leereveld, founder and CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation, about the 2012 Access to Medicine Index findings and reports on a related neo-natal resuscitation training programme in India.

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Financial Times discusses clinical trial outsourcing following the launch of the 2012 Access to Medicine Index

28 November 2012 |

Andrew Jack reports on the 2012 Access to Medicine Index findings, highlighting the Index conclusion that there is room for improvement in pharmaceutical companies' accountability for the behaviour of Contract Research Organisations (CROs). 

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