Cali Fund raises just $7,085 as pharma firms accused of free-riding on nature
The Cali Fund, launched to raise $1bn annually from companies profiting from nature's genetics, has received only $7,085 in deposits, with no major pharmaceutical contributions.
At a glance
- The Cali Fund has received just $7,085 in deposits despite targeting $1bn annually from companies profiting from nature's genetics.
- No major pharmaceutical company has contributed, though the top 15 earned about $161bn in profits in 2025.
- Only three small firms have donated: Prozomix ($5,000), TierraViva AI ($1,000), and E-Biom ($1,085).
Major pharmaceutical companies have been accused of “free-riding on nature” after the Cali Fund, a global biodiversity initiative, received only $7,085 in deposits more than 18 months after its February 2025 launch.
The fund aims to raise $1bn annually by asking businesses that profit from nature’s genetics to contribute to conservation in low-income countries. As of Monday, at the start of the Cop17 biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia, total commitments stood at $10,656.
No major pharmaceutical company has contributed. The industry relies on genetic information from organisms worldwide to develop medicines. A study by Zero Carbon Analytics found the top 15 pharmaceutical companies could have contributed $756m last year under the fund’s suggested guidelines of 1% of profits or 0.1% of revenue. Those companies generated about $161bn in profits in 2025.
“Look at how much profit these pharmaceutical companies are getting – and we’re only asking for a tiny percentage,” said June Rubis of Macquarie University, an Indigenous peoples representative on the fund’s steering committee. “Definitely, they’re free-riding” on nature.
The Cali Fund is a key topic at Cop17 and forms part of wider efforts to close a $700bn funding gap for nature conservation. At least half of its money is directed to priority areas identified by Indigenous peoples and local communities.
So far, only three small private-sector companies have given: $5,000 from UK biotech firm Prozomix, $1,000 from TierraViva AI, and $1,085 from Belgian firm E-Biom.
Pharmaceutical industry representatives criticised the mechanism, saying it overlaps with existing laws and makes inaccurate assumptions about how genetic data is used in drug discovery. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said the industry remains committed to biodiversity but has ongoing questions about the fund’s design.
Source: The Guardian Business.
Questions and answers
- What is the Cali Fund?
- The Cali Fund is a global biodiversity fund launched in February 2025 that asks companies profiting from nature's genetics to contribute to conservation in low-income countries.
- How much has the Cali Fund raised?
- As of the start of Cop17 in Yerevan, the fund had received $10,656 in commitments, of which $7,085 had been deposited.
- Have major pharmaceutical companies contributed?
- No major pharmaceutical company has given money to the fund so far, according to the report.
