I was engaged as a rapporteur by the Access to Medicine Foundation to report on a virtual workshop about identifying solutions for strengthening the global supply of essential medicines and vaccines.
This wide-ranging discussion, held under the Chatham House Rule, explored how generic medicine manufacturers can leverage their expertise to tackle today’s multiple global health challenges. Participants from eight multinational generic medicine manufacturers joined the virtual workshop alongside experts from global health organisations, procurement agencies and government bodies.
The group agreed that generic medicine manufacturers have a central – yet evolving – role in the global health landscape and are well-placed to make their products available and accessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). For instance, as it says in the write-up, during the COVID-19 pandemic generic medicine manufacturers ensured that existing medicines remained available in LMICs, despite disruptions to global supply chains. They also stepped in to manufacture the generic medicines that were used in the treatment of COVID-19 while other therapies were being developed.
