Recent news
February 2012
Pharmaceutical companies more involved in global health
February 9, 2012 -- Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly engaging in global health, and have recently joined efforts to conduct research and development (R&D) for more affordable global health products. For example, over the past two decades, prices for drugs, vaccines, and other health products from large pharmaceutical companies have decreased. This has mainly been due to the fact that pharmaceutical companies have seen the benefits of developing health products at prices affordable to low- and middle-income countries, according to a recent article in the Harvard College Global Health Review (HCGHR). There have also been significant efforts to persuade pharmaceutical companies to enter the Medicines Patent Pool (the Pool), a mechanism that gives developing countries the knowledge to make cheaper, generic HIV drugs. The Pool was established by the innovative global health financing initiative UNITAID in 2010 to stimulate innovation and improve access to HIV/AIDS medicines. The Pool works to achieve these goals by facilitating the sharing of intellectual property by patent holders through the negotiation of voluntary licenses.
Many companies, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Gilead Sciences, have contributed valuable information and resources to the development of global health products through mechanisms such as the Pool. For instance, GSK has reduced the cost of a rotavirus vaccine, and Gilead has eased restrictions on the production of generic HIV/AIDS medicines at lower costs and in easier-to-use formulations, which make them more accessible to developing countries. Generic pharmaceutical companies, many of which are in growing economies like India, have been able to benefit from partnerships with their larger, well-funded industry colleagues. According the HCGHR, Cipla Limited, a generic pharmaceutical company in India, now produces generic antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) that are identical to other, higher-priced ARVs.
