European drugmakers lead Access to Medicines Index, but are being caught up by US firms

Europe-headquartered pharmaceutical companies have out-competed their US counterparts in making medicines available to people in developing countries, but their lead is shrinking, according to the second Access to Medicine Index, released yesterday. Japanese firms were seen to be least active in this area.

Compared to 2008, when the first Index was published, drugmakers have given more insight into their policies and actions to increase people's access to medicines in developing countries, researchers say in a report underpinning the ranking. They identify more industry initiatives than two years ago, but also see room for improvement.

"The Access to Medicine Index independently assesses how individual pharmaceutical companies perform in promoting universal access to essential medicines, and is thus an important tool in improving performance," said Carissa Etienne, Assistant Director General at the World Health Organization (WHO).