Drugmakers learn to blend commerce with philanthropy in Africa

Drugmakers learn to blend commerce with philanthropy in Africa

By Andrew Ward in London

Africa has rarely been a source of good publicity for big pharma. But two events this week suggest the drugs industry is finally developing a positive story to tell about its role there.

On Wednesday, Bill Gates will hail the “phenomenal” efforts of companies such as Sanofi, Novartis, Merck and Johnson & Johnson to tackle neglected tropical diseases – mostly in Africa – as the Microsoft founder and other donors commit $240m of fresh funding.

This follows an announcement by GlaxoSmithKline on Monday that it plans to invest up to £130m in Africa over the next five years to increase manufacturing capacity and to set up a research facility focused on new medicines for Africans.

The developments show how some drugmakers are looking at Africa as a commercial opportunity even as they continue to work on a philanthropic basis in fighting some of the continent’s knottiest health challenges.

“Africa is not a homogenous entity,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive of GSK. “There are still very tough markets within it but, at the leading edge, we are seeing significant development taking place.”

The focus on Wednesday will shift back to the industry’s non-profit efforts when Mr Gates joins other donors in Paris to hear what will be a largely positive report on progress towards combating 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including Guinea worm and leprosy.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the London-based Children’s Investment Fund will each commit another $50m to the programme, along with $120m from the World Bank and $20m from other donors.

Mr Gates told the Financial Times that the anti-NTD drive was proving to be “one of the most cost-effective in global health” aided by the donation of $13.3bn of medicines on a non-profit basis by 13 drugmakers. “We’re taking the neglect out of neglected tropical diseases,” he said, voicing optimism over the prospects for meeting targets set in the London Declaration on NTDs launched in 2012.

Mr Gates said the success showed that big pharma “could have the best of both worlds: going after profitable drugs for rich and middle-income countries and providing treatments at cost for the very poorest.”

Mr Witty said that, as infectious diseases are slowly brought under control, the industry could start to address a broader range of health problems in Africa, including a rise in non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, often associated with urbanisation and economic development.

He said GSK would increasingly be taking a dual approach in which humanitarian efforts were combined with long-term investment to build a sustainable business in Africa.

“We do not expect these investments to pay back in the normal timescale but we’re going in there with a view that over the next 10 to 20 to 30 years this continent is going to become an increasingly important part of the global economy.”

Signs of progress towards improved healthcare in Africa include a 30 per cent drop in child mortality between 1990 and 2011 and a 30 per cent fall in Aids-related deaths between 2004 and 2010. However, Africans still live on average 14 years less than the global average and 21 years less than the average European.

Rohit Malpani, policy director at Médecins Sans Frontières, the medical charity, welcomed GSK’s investment in Africa but said the overall picture was “mixed”, highlighting the recent decision by AstraZeneca to shut down a research and development facility focused on tropical diseases.