GSK, Novo Nordisk Lead Pharma Philanthropy; Teva, Schering-Plough Not So Much

By bmartin on June 16, 2008 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On the basis of criteria promoting the treatment of global diseases, GlaxoSmithKline and Novo Nordisk ranked highest according to a newly released index from the Access to Medicine Foundation. The foundation, which encourages pharma's role in the healthcare of third-world citizens, assessed the philanthropic activities of 20 of the world's largest drug companies.

The following table lists the 8 criteria used by the foundation, with examples of commendable policies or programs. Leaders and losers in each category are also provided. By holding up examples, the foundation hopes to 1) motivate lower-ranking companies to establish practices which promote healthcare in developing countries and 2) urge higher-ranking companies to maintain and expand their social responsibilities.

Assessment Criteria	Leading Examples	Leader	Loser
Access-to-medicine management	· sanofi-aventis: Access to Medicine division within Corporate Affairs; separate from philanthropic activities, drug-donation programs · Pfizer: Global Health Fellows Program, in which employees volunteer for 4-6 months at nonprofits in developing world	Novo Nordisk	Teva
Public policy influence and advocacy	· Eli Lilly: Grant Registry, with disclosure of cash grants to US organizations*	Eli Lilly	Teva
R&D reflecting global disease burden and neglected diseases	· Dedicated neglected diseases divisions: GSK, AZ, Novartis, Eli Lilly · Tropical-disease vaccine departments: GSK, Novartis, sanofi-aventis · Wyeth/WHO collaboration on treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness)	GSK	Teva
Patents and licensing	· GSK: licensing agreement with Apotex to produce Apo-Triavir for distribution in Rwanda · sanofi-aventis: with DNDi, development of fixed-dose artesunate/amodiaquine	GSK	Pfizer
Drug manufacturing, distribution, and capability advancement	· Merck: Global Pharma Health Fund and Minilabs · Roche: Technology Transfer Initiative	Merck	Schering-Plough
Equitable pricing	· GSK: "Tearing down the barriers" · Merck: tiered pricing policy for HIV drugs based on UN Human Development Index and adult HIV/AIDS prevalence · Novo Nordisk: "Base of the Pyramid" pricing initiatives for diabetes	GSK	Schering-Plough
Drug donations	· Merck: donation of ivermectin (Mectizan) for treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness)	GSK	Schering-Plough
Philanthropic activities	· Abbott Lab: Tanzania Care · AZ: breast-cancer program with Axios in Ethiopia	Merck	Schering-Plough

HT: Pharmalot.

*As stated elsewhere, Lilly provides a highly itemized (and therefore, very difficult-to-synthesize) online registry report for each financial quarter of 2007.