GSK tops global drug access index for the eighth consecutive time, but more needs to be done

NETHERLANDS —Access to Medicine Index (ATMI) has noted industry-wide progress since its last report, led by GSK, which kept its first-place accessibility ranking for the eighth time.

The index praised GSK’s agreement with Gavi and UNICEF to supply its malaria vaccine for routine child immunization in endemic countries, as well as the company’s June announcement that it would commit £1 billion (US$1.2 billion) over the next decade to accelerate research and development on infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low-income countries.

However, the foundation also reported that low-income countries remain “widely overlooked,” and many dangerous diseases are going unaddressed.

Access to Medicine Index compares the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world, which account for more than half of global pharmaceutical revenue.

The Index, endorsed by 134 investors, ranks companies based on their efforts to improve access in low- and middle-income countries, taking into account governance, R&D, and product delivery.

It also highlights where progress is being made, and uncovers where critical action is still required.

Johnson & Johnson finished second by a narrow margin, followed by AstraZeneca, which jumped from seventh to third place.

For the first time in the report’s 14-year history, all 20 companies on the list have a strategy for access to medicine.

Bayer joined the top ten for the first time, with the broad geographic reach of its R&D plans highlighted as a best practice in the 2022 Index.

Six companies entered into new licensing agreements, three of them for the first time: AstraZeneca placed first in the area of Product Delivery by excelling in its approach to patent transparency and technology transfers. Eli Lilly and Novartis also entered into new licensing agreements.

According to the findings, more companies should engage in non-exclusive voluntary licenses (NEVLs) that cover a broader range of diseases and countries, earlier in product lifecycles, and with access-oriented clauses.

The Index noted that companies are increasingly engaging in NEVLs, in which the patent holder (pharmaceutical company) authorizes multiple generic manufacturers to develop and manufacture low-cost generic versions of patented medicines, often in different countries.

Novartis received the first noncommunicable disease (NCD) product license, for leukemia treatment.

Three more companies are now participating in at least one voluntary license. This opens up their on-patent products to generic manufacturing, increasing regional availability, supply, and affordability of new and innovative medicines that would otherwise be unavailable to people living in many LMICs.

In addition, the foundation warned that the pipeline for emerging infectious diseases, including those with pandemic potential, is “mainly empty.”

Just five of the 20 companies are active in emerging infectious diseases, and they target a small share of those with pandemic or endemic potential.

According to the report, more companies will need to invest in R&D across a broader range of diseases, as well as engage in access planning alongside product development.

Many people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are already vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), with recent outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg virus, and Lassa fever highlighting the critical need for vaccines and treatments.

Eli Lilly finished last in the rankings. The bottom five were AbbVie, Merck & Co., Daiichi Sankyo, and Astellas.

The index is independently-funded, with contributions from the governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and AXA Investment Managers.

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