Pharmaceutical News 2.0: Pharmaceutical Industry Investors Support Access to Medicine

Online healthcare resource Pharmaceutical News 2.0 has found that more investors in the pharmaceutical industry are coming out to support the access to medicine index, which ranks pharmaceutical companies' efforts to improve global access to medicines. As of the end of last year, fourteen worldwide investors, who together manage assets worth $1.4 trillion, had signed up to the access to medicine index.

(PRWEB) February 21, 2009 -- Online healthcare resource Pharmaceutical News 2.0 has found that more investors in the pharmaceutical industry are coming out to support the access to medicine index, which ranks pharmaceutical companies' efforts to improve global access to medicines. As of the end of last year, fourteen worldwide investors, who together manage assets worth $1.4 trillion, had signed up to the access to medicine index.

In a statement soon after signing the index, the investors said how the pharmaceutical industry "…responds to the access to medicine issue could impact materially on long-term shareholder value." They affirmed that access to healthcare should be viewed as a basic human right.
The investors who signed up to the access to medicine index include AMP Capital, Sarasian, Ethos, F&C, Henderson, Aviva, Schroders, Natixis and SMPS.

Explaining their decision to support the index, they said they wanted to feel confident that "… [Pharmaceutical] companies management have fully considered risks and opportunities in relation to the access to medicine issue, and have effective policies and processes for dealing with the challenges." Diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and Tuberculosis, they noted, continue to devastate many people in the developing world, and that pharmaceutical companies had an obligation to put in place access to medicine programs in those countries.

Already, quite a number of pharmaceutical companies have access to medicine programs in countries they operate. GlaxoSmithKline, for instance, has access to medicine programs for low-income patients in both developed and developing countries.

About Pharmaceutical News 2.0:
Pharmaceutical News 2.0 presents information related to the issues facing the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical News 2.0 is edited by James Njoroge, a former journalist who comments on science and technology issues touching on the developing world. http://www.pharmaceuticalnews2.com/

###