The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7344 p413
9 April 2005

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News summary

Guidance on access to drugs in developing countries issued

Guidance for pharmaceutical companies on how they can increase access to essential medicines in developing countries was issued by the Department for International Development last week (PDF 240K).

The document encourages companies to:

· Engage in differential pricing of essential medicines
· Increase research into diseases affecting developing countries
· Report on programmes to increase access to essential medicines

The DFID recognises, however, that the burden of responsibility for increasing access to essential medicines does not just rest with the pharmaceutical industry. The whole international community needs to work in partnership, it says, to make medicines more affordable and increase the number of new medicines developed for diseases affecting developing countries. “Increasing people’s access to essential medicines in developing countries” is available as a PDF file (240K).