Access to Medicines Ireland (AMI) is campaigning for a system of medical research and development that delivers the medicines, vaccines and diagnostics the world needs, at a fair price.

The current system uses the promise of a market monopoly to incentivise the development of a new drug or medical technology. This permits the patent holder to charge whatever price the market will bear, which can be a very high price indeed, and limits access for patients in Ireland and around the world. Furthermore, this commercially driven model often fails to deliver medicines that are not seen as profitable – for example, new antibiotics or drugs for neglected diseases.

Ongoing Campaigns and Work

We campaign for actionable, evidence-based solutions to these problems – based on recommendations from bodies such as the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, the World Health Organisation and Médecins Sans Frontières. Most recently we have been campaigning for a pandemic treaty which enshrines equity and global access to counter-pandemic technologies, learning from the mistakes of the inequitable response to COVID-19. We have also been campaigning for policies which will increase the development of new antibiotics without the use of expensive monopolies as an incentive.