shareholder proposal · 2022
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility members, Investors for Opioid and Pharmaceutical Accountability, and Oxfam America at AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, and Pfizer
Three families of proposals on access to medicines. Anti-competitive practices proposals, at AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Gilead and Pfizer, on whether stacking secondary and tertiary patents on existing drugs limits patient access. Lobbying alignment proposals, at Eli Lilly, Gilead and Johnson & Johnson, on whether lobbying matches stated access commitments. Public investment and access proposals, at Merck and Johnson & Johnson, on how government funding is reflected in access and pricing. Oxfam America separately asked Moderna and Pfizer to study transferring manufacturing technology and intellectual property so generic versions could be made in low- and middle-income countries.
What happened
Result: Of sixteen proposals filed, twelve survived the companies' challenges at the SEC and went to votes at spring 2022 annual meetings. Two proposals at Amgen, which the company did not challenge, were withdrawn by the proponents after agreements with the company, and similar public investment and access proposals at Pfizer and Moderna were filed and withdrawn by other proponents. Of the twelve votes, this pass established one: at Merck's annual meeting on May 24, 2022 the shareholder proposal on access to COVID-19 products drew 627,659,497 votes for and 1,117,396,234 against, with 47,149,071 abstentions and 323,364,405 broker non-votes, about 36 percent of the shares voted for and against.
The two Amgen proposals were withdrawn after the proponents reached agreements with Amgen. ICCR's release does not say what Amgen committed to, and no further documentation of that commitment was found.
Who is involved
- Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility members, Investors for Opioid and Pharmaceutical Accountability, and Oxfam America filer, not an organization we hold yet
- Legal & General Investment Management Ltd co-filer
- AbbVie company
- Eli Lilly company
- Gilead Sciences company
- Johnson & Johnson company
- Merck & Co. Animal Health company
- Moderna company
- Pfizer Inc. company
- Amgen company
What this campaign is about
- Vaccine and medicine R&D and access Necessary · UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Universal health coverage and affordable medicines Necessary · UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Offers fair pricing Pivotal · JUST Capital
- Political Voice Necessary · Doughnut Economics
- Health Necessary · Doughnut Economics
- Let the government override patents on unaffordable, federally funded drugs Necessary · Common Ground of the American People