Investor Support for the Index

Investor Statement

Access to healthcare provision is a basic human right. Ensuring this is one of the major challenges of our time. There is a growing public health crisis which is particularly apparent in developing countries. HIV/AIDS has become the leading cause of premature death in sub-Saharan Africa, and the fourth largest killer worldwide. Other diseases such as TB and malaria are also significant health burdens in these countries. Addressing the problem requires action from all stakeholders, working together, using their specific knowledge and expertise. The drug industry has an important role to play in the global access to medicine challenge. In addition, there has been a growing recognition among the investment community of the potential for environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to impact on the financial performance of the companies in which they invest. For investors, how the pharmaceutical industry responds to the access to medicine issue could impact materially on long-term shareholder value. There is, therefore, a need for tools which help investors and analysts assess the long-term investment value of such companies. Investors want to feel confident that company management have fully considered risks and opportunities in relation to the access to medicine issue, and have effective policies and processes for dealing with the challenges. It is in the context of all of the above that the Access to Medicine Index project (led by the Access to Medicine Foundation, assisted by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors) has been launched. The aim of the Index is to provide key stakeholders, such as the investment community, with a robust and objective framework for benchmarking companies on the management of this issue and to serve as a foundation for improving the debate on access to medicine. By their inclusion in this statement, the financial institutions listed overleaf are agreed on the following, they:

• believe the issue of access to medicine may have material impact on long-term shareholder value;
• acknowledge the existence of the Access to Medicine Index Project;
• welcome the project’s efforts to develop a tool which could improve transparency and may be useful to assess the long term value of pharmaceutical companies;
• look forward to learning the outcomes of the project;
• consider that pharmaceutical companies have a role to play in addressing the access to medicine issue.