GSK welcomes the publication of the 2012 Access to Medicines Index

GSK welcomes the publication of the third Access to Medicines (ATM) Index, which measures the performance of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to improve access to medicines and healthcare in developing countries. GSK has been ranked top of the Index in 2012 for the third time of publishing, scoring highest in four categories including general access to medicine management, research and development activity, capability advancement and drug donation and philanthropy.

Commenting on the 2012 Index, GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: “GSK’s ranking in the ATM Index is a great acknowledgement of our commitment and to the work and dedication of people throughout GSK – whether the people working to manufacture the millions of doses of vaccines we ship to developing countries, those researching new treatments for diseases such as malaria, dengue and TB or our staff on the ground in Africa who help deliver greater access to medicines every day.

“Enabling greater access to medicines is firmly at the heart of our business. We are determined to do all we can to use our resources, knowledge and expertise to help improve people’s health and well-being no matter where in the world they live. We aim to do this while generating the returns we need to sustain our business and invest in further research.

“Over the past five years, this has led us to make fundamental changes to our business model – to ensure our medicines and vaccines are as available and affordable as possible, to encourage more research into neglected diseases, to support communities to strengthen their local health infrastructure and to form partnerships with governments, NGOs and other companies to help amplify our efforts.

“We recognise there is more we can do, and we will continue to challenge ourselves to adopt and deliver new ideas and approaches to improve lives around the world.”

The Access to Medicines Index is a major initiative of the Access to Medicines Foundation, an international not-for-profit organisation, established in 2004 and dedicated to improving access to medicines. The index ranks individual pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to enhance global access to medicines across seven categories: drug donation and philanthropy, capability advancement, patents and licensing, equitable pricing, research and development, public policy, and general access to medicines management.

The Index – the first of which was published in 2008, followed by a second in 2010 – provides an overall ranking of 20 pharmaceutical companies who are measured across a range of strategic and technical areas. It also analyses industry trends in commitments, transparency, performance and innovation.