On February 24, Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. (NAM) signed the statement released by Access to Medicine Foundation (ATMF). NAM is a signatory of the Access to Medicine Index (ATMI).

The ATMF was founded in 2003 by Dutch entrepreneur Wim Leereveled. The organization encourages the pharmaceutical industry to do more to help low- and middle-income countries who have limited access to medicine. Signatories support the foundation's index.

Alex Rowe, CFA, Lead Portfolio Manager of the Nomura Global Sustainable Equity Fund, says "The spread of new COVID-19 strains has made it even more urgent to launch rapid vaccination programmes covering as many people as possible, including in low- and middle-income countries. This is why we strongly support the statement coordinated by the Access to Medicine Foundation and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Foundation and our peer investors to promote an equitable global response to COVID-19 from governments and companies alike."

For more information on the statement, please visit:

https://accesstomedicinefoundation.org/news/investors-issue-urgent-call-for-fair-and-equitable-global-response-to-covid-19

NAM is committed to taking advantage of our position as a responsible institutional investor to improve the activities of pharmaceutical companies and expand their social influence. In particular, we are engaging global pharmaceutical companies to encourage them to assume responsibility and allow access to currently available drugs in low- and middle-income countries, and further expand such access.

With other global institutional investors that support the ATMF, NAM will continue to work together to support an effective, fair and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines around the world.

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The ATMF is an independent non-profit research foundation funded by the UK Government (UK AID), the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The ATMF has partnered with the pharmaceutical industry for over a decade, with a primary goal of improving access to healthcare for billions of people in low- and middle-income countries who do not benefit from modern healthcare.
The ATMI ranks the level of support and achievements by the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with respect to global access to medicine. Asset management firms support the ATMI by using it to invest or as a tool to manage their investments.