Access to Medicine Criteria and Indicators

The Access to Medicine Index is designed to provide standardized information on pharmaceutical companies with regard to their efforts to improve global access to medicines. The Index is calculated using dozens of weighted metrics which are grouped into eight main criteria.

The following is a full breakdown of these 8 criteria, 28 indicators and all their respective weightings. The methodology resulted from an extensive stakeholder review process.

A full explanation of the latest version of the Index, including yet more detailed metrics, can be found in the Industry & Stakeholder Review report, which is available through the Resources page.

Main Criteria

20% Access to Medicines Management
10% Public policy influence & Lobbying
20% Research & Development into neglected diseases
10% Patents & Licensing
15% Drug manufacturing, Distribution and Capability advancement
15% Equitable pricing
6% Drug donations
4% Philanthropic Activities
A 20% Access to Medicines Management
A1 4% Governance: The company has a governance system that includes direct board level responsibility and accountability for its AtM strategy.
A2 4% Policy and Disclosure: The company has a public global policy in place, in which it explains its rationale for ATMs, its contents and details its specific objectives.
A3 5% Systems and Reporting: The company has a management system, including quantitative targets to implement and monitor its AtM strategy.
A4 5% Stakeholder Input: The company has a mechanism for stakeholder engagement which inputs into AtM management.
A5 2% The company has globally applicable ethical business practices and marketing policies that conform to appropriate standards.
B 10% Public policy influence & Lobbying
B1 0.5% The company has a position on public policy advocacy and transparency.
B2 2% The company and subsidiaries disclose major public policy positions at regional, national and international levels related to the AtM debate.
B3 2% The company and subsidiaries actively advocate health reforms that foster AtM and for policies that would result in improvements in public health.
B4 4% The company annually discloses which individuals, patient associations, political parties, trade associations and academic departments it supports with which it might advocate on public policy positions and practices; at a regional, national and international level.
B5 1.5% The company demonstrates a process of board approval of the approach to public policy advocacy, its transparency and reporting.
C 20% Research & Development that relfects both the global disease burden and neglected diseases
C1 1% The company has a policy on R&D investment that reflects both the global disease burden and neglected diseases.
C2 6% The company provides evidence of in-house investment in R&D into new treatments for neglected diseases.
C3 8% The company with in-house investment in R&D into new treatments for neglected diseases provides evidence of partnership with groups with developing country health expertise, such as product development public-private partnerships, academic institutions and/or the World Health Organization. The company with no in-house neglected diseases R&D investment provides evidence of investment into such R&D conducted by others.
C4 5% The company shows temporal evidence that its research program into both the global disease burden and neglected diseases considers research into existing medicines and formulations suitable for use in developing and least developed countries and for affected patient groups.
D 10% Patents & Licensing
D1 6% The company demonstrates the existence of, and discloses the terms of, non-exclusive voluntary license agreements to increase AtM in developing and least developed countries.
D2 4% The company publicly commits itself to respecting the right of developing and least developed countries to use the provisions in the TRIPS agreement.
E 15% Drug manufacturing, Distribution and Capability advancement
E1 3% The company demonstrates efforts to manufacture drugs to the highest quality standards.
E2 5.5% The company enters into technology transfer agreements with local companies in developing and least developed countries.
E3 2% The company undertakes external activities to support the monitoring of drugs that reflect both the global disease burden and neglected diseases including participation in public private partnerships.
E4 3% The company has mechanisms in place to help prevent product diversion and to address counterfeiting, in collaboration with states.
E5 1.5% The company demonstrates efforts to provide AtM to its employees and their relatives in developing and least developed countries.
F 15% Equitable pricing
F1 3% The company can demonstrate efforts to register treatments that reflect both the global disease burden and neglected diseases in developing and least developed countries.
F2 7.5% The company has a policy to facilitate AtM in developing and least developed countries through pricing mechanisms, which include reporting on scope, pricing levels and pricing reviews.
F3 1.5% The company demonstrates that its discount schemes place the minimum administrative burden on the beneficiary health system.
F4 3% The company has a policy for the very poorest in countries with no public healthcare provision.
G 6% Drug donations
G1 3.5% The company has a policy that fully conforms to the WHO’s Guidelines for Drug Donations.
G2 2.5% The company discloses the absolute volume of its drug donations and, to the extent possible, the number of treatments approved for patient use per year.
H 4% Philanthropic Activities
H1 4% The company has philanthropic programs related to AtM not covered by any of the other criteria.
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Researching the Index

The Access to Medicine Index was created and adjusted with the help of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors after consultation with many stakeholders, including representatives from governments, the pharmaceutical industry, the investor community, and non-governmental organizations.

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