The pharmaceutical industry plays a fundamental role in achieving international development targets. This was recognised in the millennium development goals (MDGs), which explicitly mention that providing access to affordable essential drugs in low- and middle-income countries has to be achieved “in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies”…The Access to Medicine Foundation… measures 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies on their policies and practices for increasing access to medicine. The Foundation’s latest report maps how the pharma companies it tracks are responding to global calls for action on MDG5, which sets targets for reducing deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and for increasing access to contraception and safe abortion…Pharmaceutical companies can also make a significant contribution to MDG5 by addressing the affordability of key products… and by helping to build local capacities…[Refers to GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis]