OBJECTIVES Emerging markets are a major priority for pharmaceutical manufacturers, and continue to grow as areas of interest for many firms. However, coverage from 3^rd party payers, whether public or private, is often limited, and as a result the patient is the primary payer. Pharmaceutical companies must devise innovative strategies in order to provide access to patients while driving sales. In this study, we aimed to assess pharmaceutical company strategies to address patient affordability in emerging markets.   METHODS We undertook a secondary research horizon scan utilizing public resources to examine a variety of strategies, including innovative patient access schemes across emerging markets. We then filtered a total of n=14 schemes in emerging markets into several categories in order to create archetypes and to identify common themes and trends. Examples from a number of countries and regions were considered, including Brazil, China, India, sub-Saharan Africa, and others. RESULTS We categorized n=14 patient access schemes into three main categories/archetypes: Licensing and Technology Transfer, Differential Pricing and Cost Offset Programs, and Value Added Services based on the primary objectives and characteristics of each scheme. A majority of programs fell under the Differential Pricing and Cost Offset programs (n=8), with the other two categories splitting up evenly at n=3 each. CONCLUSIONS Pharmaceutical manufacturers are using innovative patient access schemes to gain access in emerging markets and are doing so by finding ways to drive down overall patient spend. While we were able to archetype innovative patient access schemes into three categories, it is important to note that many schemes incorporate elements from across the categories identified. Finally, when designing a scheme, pharmaceutical companies must take into account a host of factors including country level dynamics, company assets and strategy, and particulars of scheme design.