The populations of industrialized nations profit from the advances made in modern medicine. A popular example is the evolution of child mortality. In Switzerland, for example, child mortality for boys in 1876 was over 22%. By the year 2000 this figure dropped to less than 0.5% and has since remained below that threshold. Meanwhile, the same figure in Angola in 2013 was at 16.7%.

Child mortality shows decreasing trends globally, but the speed of the transition differs. Improving access to medicine is one very important factor in speeding up this transition. Whatever their agenda, the efforts undertaken by different producers of pharmaceuticals differ significantly in some cases.

Pharmaceutical companies follow an economic agenda along with ethical considerations, when making medicine available to poor population segments. There is a trade-off between making a product available at low cost (and thus low profit) and purely commercial considerations.

Growing demand for pharmaceuticals in many countries (led by Brazil, Russia, India and China) is recognized as a major driver for the industry today. Healthier populations are more productive and contribute to economic growth. Companies which make their products available to low-income population segments will profit from brand recognition and trust as developing economies start to grow and can increasingly afford to pay higher prices.