Amongst all the news items about recession, defections and whatnot, this little nugget could escape notice :
Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world’s poor
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.
I mean, WoW!
What this Andrew Witty is proposing changes all the ground rules in the pharmaceutical industry. It's not so much the cheaper medicine made available in developing countries (he's proposing huge cuts in prices) - the proposal to make GSK's research available for sharing is mind-blowing ! I mean, can you imagine Microsoft saying that they'll share all their research with you ?
Andrew Witty - will his proposals make him a marked man ?
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