Equitable access consultation

We seek an approach which balances incentives to innovate with equitable access to the products and interventions we fund for our intended beneficiaries.  

Key aspects we are considering: 

• a clearer definition of what equitable access means to Wellcome, centred on acceptability, affordability and availability of products/interventions we fund
• articulating a more rounded approach to equitable access not simply centred on contractual approaches, but also encompassing a wide range of supporting activities Wellcome might deploy in pursuit of equitable access
• setting out a minimum set of access conditions related to products supported by direct Wellcome funding, including post-award reporting, with the ability to tailor conditions as products/interventions progress further down the development path 

We are seeking stakeholder input to help further refine the implementation of these approaches. Responses should be submitted by Wednesday 10 December 2025 and will be published on this page at the end of the consultation.

For Wellcome to deliver its mission, it is essential that our policies and practices enable sustainable innovation and support equitable access to Wellcome-funded products and interventions for vulnerable populations worldwide. In 2018 Wellcome published its first equitable access statement, which aimed to set out the general principles which Wellcome applies to its approach to delivering maximal health benefit from philanthropic funding.  

Over the years, Wellcome's individual transactions explored diverse strategies to ensure fair access to funded products and interventions. The publication of our statement marked the first time we unified and shared our overarching philosophy and approach externally. 

Since sharing our statement, Wellcome's strategy has evolved, sharpening our focus on ensuring that the work we fund benefits those most impacted by the urgent health challenges affecting everyone. We have refined our practice by curating portfolios and drawing insights from individual transactions, as well as learning from others in the ecosystem. We believe now is the opportune moment for Wellcome to update its approach and statement on this crucial area. 

We are sharing our current thinking on the evolution of our equitable access statement and practices, and we are now seeking feedback from key stakeholders on operationalising our approach. We aim to draw insights from researchers, innovators, fellow philanthropies, third sector institutions, public and private sectors (including biotech and pharma), and representatives of vulnerable populations - those intended to benefit from our funding. Our goal is to ensure our methods stimulate innovation and sustain growth while effectively advancing equitable access to products and interventions we fund for our beneficiaries. 

As additional background, details can be found online of our current equitable access statement, award conditions and related approaches. 

Bring greater clarity on the definition of what equitable access means to Wellcome. 

We aim to ensure our definition of access is centred around acceptability, affordability and availability. We intend to explore its relationship with open innovation and intellectual property management. 

Articulate a more rounded approach to delivering on equitable access from the Wellcome portfolio. 

While intellectual property management and contractual terms will always be a core part of our approach in this area, we also expect a revised equitable access statement to take a broader view of the tools available to achieve our objectives: 

• providing wrap around support to strengthen the broader R&D ecosystem
• proactively considering end-user engagement
• proactively considering equitable access in our choices along the funding lifecycle
• partnering and strengthening our collaborations on equitable access issues
• advocating for sustainable innovation that also promotes equitable access

We already engage in many of these activities, but they are not reflected in our current statement. 

Introduce a minimum set of standards which would apply to all directly-funded projects from which a product or intervention is developed: 

• requirement for access plans to be provided for products/interventions in active development (which are updated at different project stages, including stages beyond Wellcome funding)
• more post-award follow-up mechanisms (i.e. reporting), the nature and extent of which to be dependent on the scale of funding
• enhanced follow-through mechanisms either building on our “step in right” mechanism or taking an alternative approach such as humanitarian licencing. 

It is important to note that while our expectation is for these minimum conditions to apply to all directly funded projects, we foresee more detailed terms and additional funding requirements for projects further along the development path. This continues the approach outlined in our existing equitable access statement, using adaptable and pragmatic strategies for contractual funding terms. It allows us to customise conditions based on intervention types, markets, and geographies, ensuring consistent access terms across similar products and maintaining incentives for future innovations. 

We are also considering if more transparency around our approach is desirable or feasible. 

While we are often called upon to share more information about our portfolio, we are aware that many forms of enhanced transparency may disincentivise some innovators from working with us. We are keen to explore the types of information that, if disclosed, could be transformative for others and if it is possible to make such disclosures without disincentivising potential partners from engaging with us (e.g. by Wellcome disclosing aggregated/anonymised information).  

We are seeking feedback in the form of written responses which will help us adapt, operationalise and refine our approach. 

We have compiled a set of considerations for stakeholders to address. Feedback can be shared in relation to any of the thematic areas, and stakeholders are invited to raise additional issues they feel are important for us to consider.