Drug company lobbyist joins Oxfam's cheap drugs campaign

A senior lobbyist in the pharmaceutical industry is leaving his job to help to spearhead the battle for cheaper drugs to be made available in the developing world. David Earnshaw, director of European government affairs for SmithKline Beecham, will next month join Oxfam and lead its campaign on access to medicines.

Oxfam has been at the forefront of the growing confrontation over the costs of drugs to the developing world, especially AIDS and HIV treatment, and Mr Earnshaw is highly critical of the …