Andrew Witty, chief executive of UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has said the company will share its patent data on treatments for 'neglected diseases' with other drug companies and research organisations, in the hope of speeding the development of medicines for diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Witty challenged rival drugmakers to follow GSK's lead. He also said the firm will slash the prices of all its medicines in the poorest countries and give back profits so they could be spent on hospitals and clinics. 

Witty's announcement was broadly welcomed by medical NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who called on other pharmaceutical firms to follow suit. However, MSF also urged GSK to go further, declaring that AIDS/HIV was also a neglected disease area, particularly in relation to paediatric treatment.