Andrew Witty, the Head of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has announced a plan to reduce the prices of several of GSK's patented medications in 50 of the lowest-income countries worldwide and invest 20% of its profits from low-income countries into health clinics and other infrastructure.

According to his plan, GSK will cut its prices for many drugs in the 50 least-developed countries to no more than 25% of the levels in the United Kingdom (UK) and united States (US) – and less if possible – and also make drugs more affordable in middle-income countries such as Brazil and India.

Witty also proposed the creation of a voluntary patent pool to fuel development of new treatments for neglected diseases and said that GSK would contribute its patents that could lead to the development of new treatments for malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases. He called on other pharmaceutical companies to make patents available to third-party researchers working on treatments for neglected diseases.

According to a scientist at the not-for-profit drug developer Drugs for Neglected Diseases, a patent pool such as the one Witty suggests would be invaluable. At present, it can take up to one year to negotiate access to intellectual property and there are often limitations on working on the same disease with more than one pharmaceutical company at a time, based on concerns about leaking intellectual property from one company to another.

Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) Newsletter #3, Feb 2009; and Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Reports, February 18 2009.