MedAccess Guarantee Limited

MedAccess Guarantee Limited, commonly known as MedAccess, is a United Kingdom-based social finance company established in November 2017. It was created to address a persistent problem in global health: medical innovations often take years or decades to reach people in low- and middle-income countries, even when they are available and affordable elsewhere. MedAccess works by brokering and financing agreements that would not otherwise be made, bringing together manufacturers, procurers, governments, and health organisations to accelerate access to essential health products. The organisation was born out of recognition by global health partners — including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Gates Foundation, and the former UK Department for International Development (DFID) — that unpredictable healthcare markets are a major barrier to access. DFID commissioned CDC Group, now British International Investment (BII), to develop an organisation focused on shaping healthcare markets in low- and middle-income countries. CDC's investment experts developed the Credit Facility for Access to Medicine, later renamed MedAccess. The company was established in November 2017 with the aim of blending private sector know-how with public health expertise. MedAccess operates across multiple health areas, including infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, TB, syphilis, and COVID-19, as well as non-communicable diseases like cancer, sickle cell disease, and oxygen access. Its innovative finance products include volume guarantees, procurement agreements, and market shaping instruments designed to reduce prices, improve supply security, and encourage manufacturers to enter or expand in underserved markets. Since 2017, MedAccess reports having reached people in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries and saved $228 million for procurers, with even greater savings for health systems. The company is a subsidiary of British International Investment (BII), the UK's development finance institution. MedAccess is headquartered in London and operates globally, partnering with a wide range of organisations including Gavi, the Global Fund, UNICEF, and national governments. Its mission-driven, rigorous, and humble values guide its work, and it actively publishes its agreements, impact framework, and financial information to maintain transparency. MedAccess continues to respond to global health priorities, with a focus on harnessing innovative finance to help countries accelerate access to health products in a new era of global health. Its five priorities are helping turn ambition into action across its portfolio.

MedAccess was formed in 2017 to accelerate access to healthcare by tackling market inefficiencies. The organisation was born out of the recognition by global health partners — including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Gates Foundation, and the former UK Department for International Development (DFID) — that unpredictable healthcare markets are a major barrier to access in many countries. DFID commissioned CDC Group, now British International Investment (BII), to develop an idea for an organisation focused on shaping healthcare markets in low- and middle-income countries. CDC's investment experts developed the Credit Facility for Access to Medicine, later renamed MedAccess. The company was established in November 2017 with the clear aim to blend private sector know-how with public health expertise to negotiate agreements that would bring medical innovations to more people, in more countries, as quickly as possible. Since its founding, MedAccess has worked across multiple health areas including infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. It has reached people in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries and saved $228 million for procurers, and even more for health systems. The organisation operates by analysing markets, identifying opportunities to increase access to products in countries where they are unavailable or unaffordable, and negotiating agreements with manufacturers and procurers to get more products into the hands of more people more quickly. Many of the products it supports are newly developed. MedAccess is a subsidiary of British International Investment (BII), the UK's development finance institution. It is headquartered in London and works with a wide range of partners including Gavi, the Global Fund, UNICEF, and national governments. The company publishes its agreements, impact framework, and financial information to maintain transparency. Its values — being mission-driven, humble, and relentless about rigour — guide its decision-making and help it stay focused on its mission. In recent years, MedAccess has responded to global health priorities such as COVID-19, oxygen access, and sickle cell disease. It continues to harness innovative finance to help countries accelerate access to health products in a new era of global health, with five priorities helping turn ambition into action.

• 2017

  MedAccess was established in November 2017 as a company focused on shaping healthcare markets in low- and middle-income countries.

• 2017

  The organisation was developed by CDC Group (now British International Investment) on behalf of DFID, originally as the Credit Facility for Access to Medicine.

• Since 2017, MedAccess has reached people in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries and saved $228 million for procurers.

A social finance company that blends private sector know-how with public health expertise to shape healthcare markets and accelerate access to medical innovations in low- and middle-income countries.

• Credit Facility for Access to Medicine

  The original concept developed by CDC Group that later became MedAccess.

• Volume guarantees

  Financial instruments that guarantee purchase volumes to manufacturers, reducing risk and encouraging supply expansion.

• Procurement agreements

  Agreements negotiated with manufacturers and procurers to accelerate access to health products.

1. 1MedAccessmedaccess.org
2. 2History - MedAccessmedaccess.org
3. 3What we do - MedAccessmedaccess.org
4. 4Values - MedAccessmedaccess.org
5. 5Wikidatawikidata.org