Access to medicines
:quality(90)/)
Medical breakthroughs have the power to change the course of human disease, but they only realise their potential when they reach the patients who need them. At Roche, access to care is at the core of what we do, and we are proud to rank 6th in the 2026 Access to Medicine Index.
Every two years, the independent non-profit organisation Access to Medicine Foundation benchmarks 20 of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies on their actions to improve access to medicine across 84 high-burden diseases and 113 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2026, Roche ranked sixth performing above the average in the three pillars evaluated by the index, with strong progress in both Governance of Access and Research & Development, where we ranked fourth.
:quality(90)/)
A breakthrough medicine cannot save a life if the patient is never diagnosed, just as early screening fails without accessible treatment. The fundamental barrier to global healthcare equity isn't scientific capability; it is the friction between discovery and delivery. Connecting earlier diagnostics with accessible treatment transforms fragmented health services into resilient care pathways.
:quality(90)/)
Getting medicines to patients requires more than scientific innovation; it requires resilient health systems that can diagnose and care for people where they live. The Access to Medicine Index results recognize our work to make access a priority from the lab to local hospitals. Expanding patient reach is a shared collective effort between industry, governments, and health authorities, and we remain focused on building the practical partnerships needed to reach as many patients as possible.
Access to medicine as a core business driver
At Roche, access to healthcare is core to our business and a key priority of our sustainability strategy. This includes having clear accountability at the Board and senior executive’s levels, alongside robust compliance practices and transparent reporting on our patient-reach targets. We believe that our innovations can only achieve their full potential when they reach the people who need them. By combining expertise in both pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, we are strategically positioned to create value for both patients and health systems - from prevention and early diagnosis to managing and monitoring innovative therapies. Our progress underscores our sustained commitment to expanding access to innovation, powered by the dedication of colleagues across Roche working every day to fulfil our purpose of “doing now what patients need next”.
Crucially, we partner with health authorities and cross-sector leaders to overcome the real-world barriers that delay care. This integrated strategy underpins our public access goals:
Triple the number of patients treated with our strategic pharmaceuticals portfolio globally.
Double patient access to novel, high-medical-value diagnostics by 2029.1
:quality(90)/)
Diversifying supply chain for innovative influenza antiviral
In 2026, Roche entered a non-exclusive voluntary licence agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to expand global access to our innovative influenza antiviral medicine. The agreement enables eleven generic manufacturers from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam to produce and supply quality-assured generic versions of our medicine in 129 LMICs - creating additional access pathways, especially during public health emergencies.
Expanding participation in clinical research across Africa
At Roche, we believe clinical trials must reflect the diversity of the patients who stand to benefit from new medicines. Across more than 60 clinical-trial sites in seven African countries, Roche is expanding opportunities for local communities to help shape the future of medicine. In our global IMbrave152/SKYSCRAPER-14 liver cancer (HCC) trial, sites in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana helped the study reach 8% Black representation in its overall population, four times the historical industry benchmark of under 2%.
Advancing Women’s Integrated Care
In many healthcare systems across sub-Saharan Africa, cancer services operate as isolated, vertical programmes. A woman balancing family responsibilities, work and long travel distances may visit a clinic for maternal health checks, HIV care or non-communicable disease (NCD) management, but leave without ever being offered screening for breast or cervical cancer. For many women, the time, travel costs and multiple visits required to access separate cancer services create substantial barriers to screening and timely diagnosis.
Through the Women’s Integrated Cancer Services (WICS), led by the ministries of health of Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe and the World Health Organization, Roche is helping change this trajectory. The initiative integrates breast and cervical cancer screening and care through primary health care, helping improve women’s access to timely care.
:quality(90)/)
Expanding access to cervical cancer screening in LMICs
Through the Roche Global Access Program (GAP), in 2025, we expanded access pricing for our HPV DNA screening test to 17 additional countries — reaching a total of 106 low- and middle-income nations and potentially 50 million more eligible women. Beyond testing, we partner locally to bridge systemic gaps by strengthening workforce capacity, diagnostic infrastructure, and integrated care pathways to accelerate global cervical cancer elimination.
:quality(90)/)
Digital Pathology program in Egypt
Roche and the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a nationwide Digital Pathology program, supporting Egypt’s efforts to strengthen diagnostic capacity and expand access to timely and accurate diagnosis across all governorates, including remote and underserved areas. Digital pathology addresses a critical challenge facing healthcare systems across Africa, where the lack of pathologists often cause delays in diagnosis and increase pressure on public healthcare resources.
:quality(90)/)
Advanced diagnostics capacity in Kenya
In Kenya, Roche supports the Aga Khan University Hospital to automate core laboratory testing, creating an East African hub capable of providing more than 800 test results an hour. Pairing high-volume automated testing with specialized training for local clinicians, this partnership enables faster test results, reduces the need to send samples abroad, and strengthens regional healthcare capacity to enable early diagnosis and prevention of diseases with the highest burden in the region such as cancers, infectious and cardiovascular diseases.
References:
Base year: 2023 for pharmaceuticals access target; 2020 for diagnostics access target
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)
:quality(90)/)