While climate goals have long dominated the ESG spotlight, the “Social” pillar is taking center stage through innovations in global health equity. For years, firms prioritized carbon footprints, leaving social indicators as secondary, hard-to-measure metrics. Today, this landscape is shifting. HIV remains a critical global threat, with 39.9 million people living with the virus—65% of whom reside in Sub-Saharan Africa, where healthcare infrastructure is strained. However, a significant operational shift is underway. Gilead Sciences’ Yeztugo, a first-in-class, twice-yearly PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) injection approved in 2025, is actively “bending the curve” of the epidemic. Boasting over 99.9% efficacy, this biomedical innovation dismantles barriers such as daily pill fatigue, strict adherence regimens, and the social stigma often associated with public prevention methods. This technological leap is only the beginning; the R&D pipeline is already advancing toward the next milestone: a once-yearly HIV prevention mechanism, conceptualized as a functional “vaccine”. Beyond the science, the strategic execution of this rollout represents a paradigm shift for ESG integration. Gilead’s commitment to enable access to Yeztugo at no profit to high-burden, low-income countries marks a transition toward targeted, high-impact social investing. Historically, the pharma industry has suffered from an “access lag,” where innovations took up to a decade to trickle down to developing nations due to pricing disputes. By replacing years of access lag with proactive scalability and immediate licensing, this model redefines how the healthcare sector creates and sustains systemic value. It demonstrates that robust Social-pillar performance is no longer just about philanthropy, but about building resilient frameworks that mitigate systemic risks and maximize health equity. Do you want to learn more about J. Safra Sarasin’s approach to Future Health? Check out the link below!

Read more: Future Health – Embracing change with medical innovation

– Author: Dr. Leonildo Delgado, PhD in Struct. Biology and Biophysics, Portfolio Manager of the JSS Sustainable Equity – Future Health Fund, J. Safra Sarasin

– This contribution is brought to you by J.Safra Sarasin, a valued Bronze sponsor of Building Bridges 2026.