Surprising Twist: Drug Company Drops Patents To Increase Access To Meds For Poor Countries


A British pharmaceutical firm, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is dropping its patents in the world’s poorest countries to increase access to affordable medicine.

Unlike many of its counterparts, GSK wants to make it easier for manufacturers to develop generic duplicates of its drugs so that people in developing countries can afford them.

Backed by international guidelines set in place by the United Nations and World Bank, GSK will not file patents for 50 countries that have a combined population of approximately 1 billion people.

The company hopes that removing the threat of filing for patent protection in these countries will inspire independent companies to distribute cheaper versions of the drugs in those areas.

The CEO of the company, Sir Andrew Witty said:

“The changes we are setting out aim to make it as clear and simple as possible for generic manufacturers to make and supply versions of GSK medicines.”

GSK will continue to file patents in what it considers lower middle income countries, but is granting licenses to generic manufacturers for a “small royalty”.

Former president of the British Pharmacological Society, Raymond Hill, believes GSK is setting a precedent for other major pharmaceutical companies:

“This is a brave and positive step towards broadening the access to important new medicines in the developing world.”

GSK also plans to add its future cancer drugs to what’s called a Medicines Patent Pool. Beginning in 2010, the pool has increased access to treatments for HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C through licensing arrangements, which allow generic drugs to be made and sold in poorer countries.

However, there’s added work to be done when introducing new, powerful drugs to developing countries. According to Hill:

“Many new cancer drugs are most valuable when used in sub-groups of patients identified by advanced diagnostic techniques that may not be available… The impact of this move on the treatment of cancer and other diseases in each individual country will depend on whether there is a local adequate healthcare infrastructure that will allow the safe use of powerful new drugs in an appropriate group of patients.”

Even though GSK plans to continue filing patent protections in wealthier parts of the world, this is a big step toward global access to medicine. Here’s hoping other companies follow suit.

Featured image cropped from original image available under a Public Domain license via Pixabay.