WIPO Re:Search Member Companies Lead the Ranks of the 2021 Access to Medicine Index

January 28, 2021

WIPO Re:Search membership helps its corporate members to be recognized as leaders at improving access to medicine, according to the 2021 Access to Medicine Index published this week.

The Access to Medicine Index is an independent ranking of 20 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies on their actions to improve access to medicine in 106 countries. The top four companies in the list are active WIPO Re:Search members - GSK, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.  Furthermore, Takeda, Merck KGaA, Eisai and MSD hold the 6th, 8th, 11th and 15th places respectively.

The voluntary sharing of intellectual property constitutes a powerful force in advancing research and development to find solutions to devastating diseases that disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations in low- and middle-income countries. This is why the Access to Medicine Index factors IP sharing and associated initiatives including WIPO Re:Search into its annual rankings.

“WIPO Re:Search welcomes this week’s publication of the 2021 Access to Medicine Index, and is pleased to see our member companies holding four of the top five, and six of the top ten, rankings,” said Charles Randolph, Head of Global Health at WIPO. “Our robust global network of 153 members spread across 44 counties on six continents stands committed to advancing the global health agenda, notably UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 calling for good health and well-being for all.”

The 2021 Access to Medicine Index identifies eight pharmaceutical companies as setting the pace in implementing systematic “access planning”, which they define as “pairing candidates in their R&D pipelines with plans for making them accessible in low- and middle-income countries soon after the products are launched onto markets”.  WIPO Re:Search is proud to be working closely with six of these eight pacesetters: GSK, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda and Merck KGaA.