Drug companies urged to make drugs available at cost price to the poor

The UK government's international development secretary, Clare Short, last week urged pharmaceutical companies to make drugs available “at cost price” to patients with preventable diseases in the poorest countries. She said Britain would press other governments to sign up to the scheme at the next G8 conference.

Ms Short was speaking after a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair, where she presented the draft report of the UK Working Group on Increasing Access to Essential Medicines in the Developing World. The group, which was set up by Mr Blair after the Okinawa summit last year, includes representatives from British pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, …