Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor

:wow:


Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor

Head of GSK shocks industry with challenge to other 'big pharma' companies

* Sarah Boseley, health editor
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 February 2009 21.44 GMT


The world's second biggest pharmaceutical company is to radically shift its attitude to providing cheap drugs to millions of people in the developing world.

In a major change of strategy, the new head of GlaxoSmithKline, Andrew Witty, has told the Guardian he will slash prices on all medicines in the poorest countries, give back profits to be spent on hospitals and clinics and – most ground-breaking of all – share knowledge about potential drugs that are currently protected by patents.

Witty says he believes drug companies have an obligation to help the poor get treatment. He challenges other pharmaceutical giants to follow his lead.

Pressure on the industry has been growing over the past decade, triggered by the Aids catastrophe.

Drug companies have been repeatedly criticised for failing to drop their prices for HIV drugs while millions died in Africa and Asia. Since then, campaigners have targeted them for defending the patents, which keep their prices high, while attempting to crush competition from generic manufacturers, who undercut them dramatically in countries where patents do not apply.

The reputation of the industry suffered a further damaging blow with the publication and film of John le Carré's book The Constant Gardener, which depicted drug companies as uncaring and corrupt.

But speaking to the Guardian, Witty pledged significant changes to the way the drug giant does business in the developing world.

more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/13/glaxo-smith-kline-cheap-medicine

in price since the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Part D was passed. I wonder how much more Americans, especially senior citizens, will have to pay in order for Glaxo to do this good deed? I can't imagine that they are going to adjust their profit margin downwards in any way. Well, the generic manufacturers need not worry as probably a new market will open up right here in the USA as fewer and fewer Americans will be able to afford the more expensive drugs.

In my utopian drug dream, intellectual property should be developed in universities under government grants so that they remain the property of the government who can then share it as they see fit to developing and poor nations. Those developed and tested drugs can then be produced by the manufacturers, who will sell them at the same price globally for every nation. I do believe rich nations can buy drugs for poor nations that they are helping to develop. They can do this if they are forced to stop the advertising and promotion of these drugs. Drug information should only be made to doctors through publications like JAMA. But this is only my utopian drug dream.

it worked in the usa until they were finally found out years later....

to do with testing. Maybe someone just wants to do the right thing for a change.

Edit to add: I saw and read "The Constant Gardener" and am aware some shitty companies do exactly the wrong things all the time.

migraine drugs, I might believe somebody there has a conscience.