Dates: 05 October 2023
Title: The S of ESG in Healthcare: Enabling Strategic Access to Medicine globally
Description:
Despite advances, billions of people across the globe, mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), still cannot access the medicines they need. More than 80% of the world’s population live in LMICs. Healthcare investors and financial stakeholders have an opportunity to work with the healthcare and the pharmaceutical sector to address these inequalities, paving the way for equitable medicines access. The Covid-19 pandemic was a turning point in the fight for equitable access to medicine with the majority of pharmaceutical companies recognising the importance of scaling their efforts and implementing access policies to reach as many patients as possible, regardless of where they live. Investors and key players in the responsible investing space have the unique position to further drive this momentum amongst companies and come together and explore win-win strategies that increase access to medicine globally. The Access to Medicine Foundation and Medicines Patent Pool are delighted to host a side event at PRI Tokyo which will highlight the benefits of integrating access in the investment process from a business perspective and underscoring its impact on health equity and positive impact on investment yield. The work of the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) in transforming access for infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the world has demonstrated the kind of impact that is possible. Voluntary licensing is one of several sustainable access strategies that will be explored on this panel. Together, with our panellists, we hope to shed light on different strategies that can be employed to expand access to medicines globally, with a focus on the social impact of ESG investing in the healthcare sector. Investors will share how they’ve used our insights to inform their engagements and pave the way for change and what’s next on the agenda.
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The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.