In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Are cheap malaria drugs in developing countries a fantasy?

(BBC) GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, and it has just announced it will help to make malaria drugs available to developing countries where the ill often have difficulty paying for life-saving medications. The company is relaxing intellectual property controls over malaria-fighting molecules and will offer a low-cost prototype vaccine in Africa. GSKs annual profits are around £8 billion. But the struggle with providing expensive drugs to poor countries has been going on for decades and this may just be one small step in the right direction.

1.

Helping give drugs to developing countries

PhRMA
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is a U.S. pharmaceutical research company. In 2008, it invested around $50.3 billion in developing new medicines. Its "World" site describes  efforts to make these drugs available affordably in the developing world. The site places the blame for lack of access to drugs on the governments of developing nations (saying the countries are not properly funding health services) and on economic and social factors. Meanwhile PhRMA maintains it is helping by donating medicines and sponsoring public health programs.

2.

Protectionism is to blame

Africa Fighting Malaria
This article is posted on the Africa Fighting Malaria (AFM) website. Founded in 2000, AFM is a non-profit advocacy group based in the U.S. and South Africa that works toward making malaria control more effective. The organization researches the socio-economic aspects of the disease. This article, by Roger Bate of the Wall Street Journal explains that lowering prices of drugs is not enough to make malaria treatment available in Africa. People donating money need to ensure their generosity isn't compromised by local government tariffs and other protectionist measures.

3.

The facts on fighting malaria

The Global Fund
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is global public/private partnership that assembles and distributes the resources needed to fight these three diseases. Since it was created in 2002, it has given out 104 million bed nets and 108 million malaria drugs. The organization has US$18.7 billion in funding. This fact sheet provides statistics on the infection and treatment rate of the disease and explains the different methods of preventing and treating the disease. It also details the costs of the various methods. The fact sheet also describes how the Global Fund will help reduce the cost of more effective anti-malarial drugs, thereby reducing the supply of poor-quality drugs in developing countries.

4.

Big pharma hurting sufferers

Medecins Sans Frontieres
This article on the MSF website, written by Nick Mathiason, outlines the problem posed by large pharmaceutical companies to giving developing nations access to drugs. Mathiason talks about the efforts of the World Trade Organization to come to an agreement over intellectual property rights in developing countries. The article asserts that drug companies that don't allow countries to manufacture generic copies of brand name medicines are causing the problem.

5.

The long battle with malaria

European Patent Office
The European Patent Office (EPO) is the organization that provides the application procedure for those wishing to acquire patent protection in 38 European countries. It is the executive arm of the European Patent Organization. The article explains the history behind malaria and its treatment. It tells of the discovery of Coartem, a drug which was derived from traditional Chinese medicine and produced by Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, in 2001. The article explains that malaria drugs are still largely unavailable to those who need them most in developing countries.