The UK Government recently launched a new framework document entitled “Increasing people’s access to essential medicines in developing countries.” The document provides guidelines on how pharmaceutical companies can increase access to essential medicines through innovative pricing and by partnerships with key stakeholders, including through the engagement of public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Published by the Department for International Development (DFID), the report notes that pharmaceutical companies have played a substantial role in increasing the availability of medicines for poor people in the developing world. However, “one third of the world’s population still lacks access to the medicines they need…By 2015 over 10.5 million lives could be saved every year [if we] expand access to existing health interventions” (pg. 1, 17).
Acknowledging ongoing collaborations between pharmaceutical companies and public-private partnerships in drug development, the document stresses the need for the pharmaceutical sector to do go further in its existing efforts to increase access to essential medicines. Recommendations for action include:
- • Widespread institution of “differential pricing” for essential medicines, which would lower drug costs in developing countries; and
- • Increased investment in research and development for diseases affecting developing countries, which can be done through the PPP approach.
The TB Alliance has been actively engaging the pharmaceutical industry in its pursuit of a faster cure for TB. With commitments from various partners, including GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, the Alliance has built a comprehensive TB drug portfolio consisting of multiple projects in various stages of the R&D process. All of these commitments from industry have been coupled with a pledge to affordability – the cornerstone of every partnership the Alliance engages in. For the TB Alliance, drug development does not stop at registration, but rather continues until it reaches the hands of those in need and every contract, therefore, underscores this priority.