The Global Health Impact Index: Promoting Global Health

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 11;10(12):e0141374. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141374. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Millions of people cannot access essential medicines they need for deadly diseases like malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS. There is good information on the need for drugs for these diseases but until now, no global estimate of the impact drugs are having on this burden. This paper presents a model measuring companies' key malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS drugs' consequences for global health (global-health-impact.org). It aggregates drugs' impacts in several ways-by disease, country and originator-company. The methodology can be extended across diseases as well as drugs to provide a more extensive picture of the impact companies' drugs are having on the global burden of disease. The study suggests that key malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS drugs are, together, ameliorating about 37% of the global burden of these diseases and Sanofi, Novartis, and Pfizer's drugs are having the largest effect on this burden. Moreover, drug impacts vary widely across countries. This index provides important information for policy makers, pharmaceutical companies, countries, and other stake-holders that can help increase access to essential medicines.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-HIV Agents / economics*
  • Anti-HIV Agents / supply & distribution
  • Antimalarials / economics*
  • Antimalarials / supply & distribution
  • Antitubercular Agents / economics*
  • Antitubercular Agents / supply & distribution
  • Developing Countries
  • Disability Evaluation
  • Drug Industry / economics
  • Drug Industry / ethics*
  • Global Health / economics
  • Global Health / ethics*
  • HIV Infections / drug therapy
  • HIV Infections / mortality
  • Health Services Accessibility
  • Humans
  • Malaria / drug therapy
  • Malaria / mortality
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Quality of Life
  • Survival Analysis
  • Tuberculosis / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis / mortality

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents
  • Antimalarials
  • Antitubercular Agents

Grants and funding

Binghamton University and Carnegie Mellon University seed grants were provided. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.