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New access to the drug (www.AccesstoMedicineFoundation.orgThe index notes that multinational pharmaceutical companies are increasingly interested in doing business in Africa, benefiting low-income people. However, the 2018 index also revealed significant gaps in areas where pharmaceutical companies are registering new products on the African continent.
The Access to Medicines Index is one of the 20 largest research-based pharmaceutical companies in the world and improving access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries. In 2018, the index indicates that four of these companies are implementing or developing business models in Africa that serve people with very low incomes. Many of these models focus on products for heart disease, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases, which are increasing worldwide.
- In Ghana, Novartis collaborates with local private drug stores to make blood pressure screening more convenient and to distribute drugs within the community. High blood pressure (HTA) is a major risk factor for heart disease and affects up to 36% of adults in Ghana, where long and costly journeys often prevent people from seeking the health care they need. need.
- In Kenya, Merck KGaA expands its initiative to create local health centers. It now operates in Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos, Makueni and Mombasa Counties. These centers each provide pharmacy and nursing services, as well as insurance plans and health care financing.
- In Zambia, GSK trains the local population as entrepreneurs capable of providing affordable health products to their communities, and benefiting from interest-rate loans, provided the savings are transferred. These entrepreneurs sell products for oral health, pain control, contraception and other health-related products, as well as products such as stoves.
Capacity building to enable access
The index also indicates that business efforts to support and strengthen the capacity of local health systems and supply chains are at the center of concern for African countries. These initiatives are diverse. For example, Takeda is working with Kenya's Ministry of Health and other partners to ensure that more people have access to cancer services. In Ghana, Merck KGaA is working with partners, including the government, to establish a new local vaccine manufacturing plant. Capacity building efforts are essential to advance universal health coverage.
"The Index found for the first time that pharmaceutical companies had a strategic interest in Africa in 2014," Gabrielle Breugelmans, Director of Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation, which publishes the Index. "Today, we see signs that this interest is intensifying. The next challenge to ensure that the best ideas benefit the poorest. "
Companies generally invest primarily in capacity building in markets with commercial potential. In the analysis of the Index, Kenya has the largest number of capacity building initiatives, followed by South Africa and then China. Overall, the index analyzed 141 capacity building initiatives in African countries. The analysis of the Index included only initiatives responding to local needs in specific capacities and covering 50 of the 54 countries in Africa. Of these, 22 countries do not have qualified initiatives for analysis.
Major gaps: are the products available?
A drug or vaccine can only be marketed in a country once it has been registered for sale. Yet, the Index finds significant gaps in the registration of new innovative products in African countries. Some countries have seen the introduction of new products, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, but another 13 countries have not registered any new products identified by the index, including Sudan, South Sudan, Angola and Somalia. to 150 million people. One factor that should improve the situation is the creation of the new African Medicines Agency (AMA), to speed up the process of registering pharmaceuticals in Africa.
"Companies are strengthening their focus and working with local partners – we see this as a positive sign of a long-term commitment to improving health", Jayasree K. Iyer, Executive Director of the Access to Medicine Foundation. "To dramatically accelerate progress, more businesses need to stay engaged over the long term."
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Access to Medicine Foundation.
Media contact:
Suzanne Wolf
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tel: + 31 6 29 40 40 90 or +31 20 215 3535
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.AccesstoMedicineFoundation.org
Note to editors:
Press material:
The overall ranking, data points, graphs and associated figures (eg from key findings) of the report are available upon request.
About the drug access index:
Access to Medicines (www.AccesstoMedicineFoundation.org) analyzes 20 of the largest research-based pharmaceutical companies offering products for high-burden diseases in low- and middle-income countries. It ranks them in their efforts to improve access to medicines in seven areas of corporate behavior and identifies best practices, highlights areas in which progress is being made and indicates where critical actions are still needed. The index is endorsed by more than 80 investors who collectively manage assets worth more than $ 11 trillion. It is published every two years by the Access to Medicine Foundation, an independent non-profit organization funded by the UK Government (UK AID), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Health. Sport and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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