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Biography |
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Klaus Leisinger heads the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Develop¬ment as Chief Executive Officer and President of its Board of Trustees. The Foundation (www.novartisfoundation.com) has consul¬tative status with the Social and Economic Council of the United Nations.
In addition, Klaus Leisinger is Professor of Sociology at the Uni¬vers¬i¬ty of Basel where he teaches Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility as well as Human Rights and Business. Klaus Leisinger served as invited lecturer at several Swiss and German universities, as well as at the University of Notre Dame, De Paul University, the MIT Sloan School of Management (Cambridge), and at Harvard University. He is member of the European Acade¬my of Sciences and Arts.
Klaus Leisinger has held and still holds several advisory positions in a number of national and international organi¬¬za¬¬tions, such as the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Development Pro¬gram (UNDP), the World Bank (CGIAR), Asian Development Bank as well as Economic Com¬mission for Latin America (ECLA) and the UN Economic and Social Council. Between September 2005 and December 2006, Klaus Leisinger served as Special Advisor of the United Nations Secretary General for the UN Global Compact, at that time Kofi Annan. For his sustained engagement “pro pace et justitia” as well as for his academic work in Business Ethics he was awarded a “doctor honoris causa” in theology by the university of Fribourg (Switzerland).
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Abstract |
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Corporate Responsibilities forAccess to Medicines
Today, over a billion human beings still subsist in absolute poverty. Another 1.5 billion live on $2 or less a day. This brings the number of people struggling for food, shelter, safe water, sanitation, basic education, and other essentials to about 2.5 billion. Almost by definition, this “system of poverty” makes people sick and prevents patients from getting medical care.
Today the pharmaceutical industry is being pressured to contribute to improved access to medicines for poor patients. And experts agree on the appalling facts regarding access:
• Used properly, essential medicines and vaccines could save up to 10.5 million lives each year and reduce unnecessary suffering – but a third of the world cannot get the medicines they need, rising to 50% in parts of Asia and Africa.
• Recent essential-medicines surveys found that, despite wide variation, average availability was 20% in the public sector and 56% in the private sector.
• Almost half of all medicines are inappropriately prescribed, dispensed, or sold, leading to wasted resources and potentially harming patients.
• Patients often do not follow prescribed regimens, taking perhaps half of the medicine given to them, which reduces treatment efficacy and could lead to resistance.
Resolving these failures would save millions of lives. The scale and complexity of today’s global health problems and the human tragedy associated with premature death and preventable disease makes access to medicines a central corporate responsibility priority for pharmaceutical companies. While governments continue to be primarily responsible for ensuring access to health care and thus to essential medicines, pharmaceutical companies are expected to assume a share of the responsibility.
The primary responsibility of a pharmaceutical company is tied to its core competence: through research and development, the company brings innovative and effective products to the market at competitive prices. The portfolio of good practices of responsible companies for the benefit of patients living in poverty includes the following:
• Differential pricing – reduced tenders for selected drugs for poverty-related and tropical diseases for patients who lack purchasing power
• Donations for disease eradication programs, such as the Novartis leprosy program, and for emergencies such as in Haiti
• R&D investments for “neglected” diseases that mainly affect poor people in low-income countries
• Support for broader health and development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals.
No single actor – and no corporate initiative – can unilaterally solve the health problems facing impoverished people. National as well as international political institutions, NGOs and churches, business corporations, academic institutions, and others must find a way to agree on a “corridor of legitimate action.” The common good is best served when all actors do their best in the area of their particular responsibility, without losing sight of the ties that bind them.
I see no solution to the problems of poverty, sickness, and despair without the active engagement of the private sector, and especially the large companies. Earning profits is not incompatible with being a force for good. The legitimacy of pharmaceutical companies will increasingly depend on being perceived as a force for good and part of the solution in the fight against poverty-related illnesses and premature mortality. Indeed, successful endeavors in this respect will be a determining factor for the pride and motivation of employees, investment allocations of ethical investment funds and the support of critical constituencies in civil society.
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