E-DRUG: First longitudinal study of Access to Medicine Index
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Dear e-druggers,
On 31 January 2014, the Lancet Global Health published a research letter from the Access to Medicine Foundation research team that sets out the method and findings of the first longitudinal analysis of the performance of the research-based pharmaceutical industry with regard to access to medicine, between 2010 and 2012. This can be accessed on http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/latestcontent.
The abstract of the letter is given below.
The full analysis report is available on the Publications section of the ATM website.
http://www.accesstomedicineindex.org/index-publications
Summary
Background: Every two years since 2008 the Access to Medicine (ATM) Index has ranked the top-20 pharmaceutical companies based on their efforts to promote access to priority medicines in developing countries. However, absolute progress over time has never been assessed.
Objectives: Measure changes in company performance with regard to access to medicines and technologies for 33 relevant diseases in 103 low- and middle-income countries.
Methods: A meta-analysis of 12 ATM indicators of 2010 and 2012, recording company policies, transparency, activities and innovation in six technical areas.
Findings: 17/20 companies show progress in their overall ATM scores. The mean value of the six most representative ATM indicators rose from 1.45 to 2.67 (scale 0-5). Relevant research efforts by the companies more than doubled. The industry seems well advanced in the areas of corporate governance and medicine donations, but still has a long way to go in issues of data exclusivity and patent policies. There are considerable differences between companies (see full report).
Interpretation: There is overall progress in company performance in the areas covered by the selected ATM indicators. This analysis adds a dynamic perspective to the biennial ATM ranking and will serve as a baseline for the future.
Any comments on the full report and on the article are of course very welcome.
Hans V. Hogerzeil
Professor of Global Health, University of Groningen
Access to Medicine Foundation, Haarlem
Jayasree K. Iyer, Lisanne Urlings, Tara Prasad, Sarah Brewer
Access to Medicine Foundation, Haarlem
Hogerzeil Hans <hans.hogerzeil@bluewin.ch>