Glaxo Will Further Cut Prices of AIDS Drugs to Poor Nations

A serious hurdle in the global fight against AIDS has been the price of AIDS drugs, which is unattainably high for most of the disease's victims. Since AIDS disproportionately affects people in poor countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the former price tag of US$1.70 a day for drugs was too high. GlaxoSmithKline is now promising to lower that price to 90 cents, in the hopes that the cut in prices will make the drugs more available to those who suffer from AIDS. This new price will mean that the company is selling the drugs without profit in 63 poor countries. Perhaps Glaxo’s move will spark a new wave of humanitarianism within the pharmaceutical industry, which has come under intense public pressure to lower prices on life-sustaining drugs. – YaleGlobal