 "No Indian Pharma company in world Access to Medicine Index")
A recent study undertaken by the Netherlands-based Access to Medicine Foundation, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK government and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has revealed that not even a single Indian pharmaceutical company features in the list of top 20 companies that have attempted at making medicines affordable for those in low and middle income countries. The Access to Medicine Index lists the top-20 companies in the world on the basis of working towards making available essential drugs in low- and middle-income countries. This report is revealed at a time when India is reworking the structure and nature of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which is supposed to ensure price parity with Indian conditions, and ironically the campaign for affordable medicines to all in India is in full swing.
The list is topped by UK-headquartered GlaxoSmithkline. Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Merck, Sanofi, Astrazeneca, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc, Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo are others who have featured in the top-20 list. The index focuses on 22 diseases, with major on malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. Some of the parameters used by the report are pricing, R&D, capacity building, actual performance vs. intent and innovation.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has bagged the first position this year. "GSK is developing the most R&D projects that target high-priority product gaps with low commercial incentive. It tops the index for considering affordability when setting prices, and comes a close second in the access-enabling management of IP. It is a leading performer in addressing needs when it builds capacity, especially in pharmacovigilance and R&D", the report observes.
Further, the Access to Medicines report 2014 has noted that six companies account for about three quarters of the 151 high-priority, low-incentive research projects being undertaken. These include GSK, Abbvie, Johnson and Johnson, Sanofi, Novartis, Merck KGaA.
The study emphasizes that pricing is one of the factors that ensures availability of medicines to all. Alarmingly, the extent of equitable pricing hovers around a third of the 850 products on the market for high-burden diseases. Further, only 5 per cent, or about 44 products, are covered by need-based pricing involving strategies that set different prices for different population segments within a country.
The study has measured how companies have been willing to share patents or non-exclusive voluntary licensing. "Companies generally remain conservative in their positions on the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health", observes the report.
The TRIPS agreement was administered by the World Trade organisation to ensure that there are minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation. Exceptions to these, argues the report are AstraZeneca, GSK and Merck KGaA.
Finally, among the suggetions the report is of the belief that companies should manage their IP rights responsibly so that there is no limit to the availability of essential medicines.
The list is topped by UK-headquartered GlaxoSmithkline. Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Merck, Sanofi, Astrazeneca, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc, Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo are others who have featured in the top-20 list. The index focuses on 22 diseases, with major on malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. Some of the parameters used by the report are pricing, R&D, capacity building, actual performance vs. intent and innovation.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has bagged the first position this year. "GSK is developing the most R&D projects that target high-priority product gaps with low commercial incentive. It tops the index for considering affordability when setting prices, and comes a close second in the access-enabling management of IP. It is a leading performer in addressing needs when it builds capacity, especially in pharmacovigilance and R&D", the report observes.
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The report observes that GSK leads, with equitable pricing for more than 60 products. Further Sales in emerging markets account for approximately 25 per cent of their total sales. GSK holds a 77.4 per cent stake in ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture with Pfizer and Shionogi focused on the research, development, and commercialization of HIV/AIDS medicines. In 2014, the company acquired Novartis' vaccine business, and divested its marketed oncology portfolio to Novartis in return. As part of the deal, the two companies created a new consumer healthcare business, with GSK retaining majority control.
Further, the Access to Medicines report 2014 has noted that six companies account for about three quarters of the 151 high-priority, low-incentive research projects being undertaken. These include GSK, Abbvie, Johnson and Johnson, Sanofi, Novartis, Merck KGaA.
The study emphasizes that pricing is one of the factors that ensures availability of medicines to all. Alarmingly, the extent of equitable pricing hovers around a third of the 850 products on the market for high-burden diseases. Further, only 5 per cent, or about 44 products, are covered by need-based pricing involving strategies that set different prices for different population segments within a country.
The study has measured how companies have been willing to share patents or non-exclusive voluntary licensing. "Companies generally remain conservative in their positions on the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health", observes the report.
The TRIPS agreement was administered by the World Trade organisation to ensure that there are minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation. Exceptions to these, argues the report are AstraZeneca, GSK and Merck KGaA.
Finally, among the suggetions the report is of the belief that companies should manage their IP rights responsibly so that there is no limit to the availability of essential medicines.