NEW YORK (AP) — Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it will cut drug prices to the 50 poorest countries in the world and use 20 percent of its profits from those countries to build health clinics and other infrastructure, according to published reports. The company’s chief executive, Andrew Witty, also is proposing that drug companies, nonprofit groups and others donate their patents related to neglected tropical diseases to a common pool that could be used to speed development of new drugs, the Wall Street Journal said. Witty said prices will be cut for the poorest countries so that they are no higher than 25 percent of the price in developed countries, according to the report. Glaxo, the second biggest drug maker by sales, generates about $43 million annually in revenue from those countries. About $1.5 million to $2.5 million would be generated for the clinics, Witty told the Journal. HIV drugs are already sold at not-for-profit prices in those countries, but the prices will be cut if the drugs aren’t already sold at prices below the threshold of 25 percent, reports said. Treatments for hepatitis B, genital herpes, malaria and asthma are expected to be among those affected by the plan. Witty told the Journal that Glaxo will not contribute its HIV patents to the pool. The company believes there already is innovation in HIV medicines because of the profit that can be made in Western markets.
