Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
drug companieslatest news & developments

Motsoaledi: Big pharma’s ‘satanic’ plot is genocide

Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi is livid about a pharmaceutical company campaign he says will restrict access to crucial drugs.

The high cost of drugs is putting them out of patients’ reach

Generic cancer drug – access not guaranteed

A generic version of a key cancer drug is now available in South Africa, but at a significantly higher cost than it is available internationally.

Patent exemption extended for world’s poorest nations

Patients in the world’s poorest countries will continue to receive access to drugs cheaply for at least another decade.

Local medicines are more costly than imports.

Zim drug companies under the weather

Pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country say their backs are up against the wall due to unfair import rules that give South Africa an advantage.

Impoverished patients benefit from rejected drug patent

After a seven-year battle, India’s government has successfully defended its right to reject drug patents if a medicine doesn’t deserve one.

Nearly 80% of first-line ARVs used in the developing world are produced in India

Cheap drugs a bitter pill for the West

A global squabble over property rights could see the price of medicine soar in poor countries.

Drug companies are buying the opinion of doctors

Exposed: Bitter pill of bad pharma

A new book detailing how profit-hungry pharmaceutical companies mislead medical practitioners and harm patients may be just what the doctor ordered.

There’s solace in numbers in the world of rare diseases

It’s been a long journey of discovery for the family of a Cape Town girl who suffers from cystinosis.

Pfizer to buy Wyeth, will cut jobs

Pfizer is buying rival drug maker Wyeth in a -billion deal that will increase its revenue by 50 percent and solidify its No 1 rank in the industry.

Pfizer nears $68bn deal to buy Wyeth, say sources

Pfizer Inc was close to a -billion purchase of US rival Wyeth in a move to diversify its revenue base, sources familiar with the situation said.