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Business Matters: GSK to 'Drop Patents in Poor Countries'

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GSK to 'drop patents in poor countries'

01/04/2016 GMT

GSK to 'Drop Patents in Poor Countries'

BBC World Service - Business Matters, GSK to 'Drop Patents in Poor Countries'

GlaxoSmithKline wants to make it easier for manufacturers to copy its medicines

Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline has said it wants to make it easier for manufacturers in the world's poorest countries to copy its medicines.

The British drugs manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, says it will not file patents for its products in the world's poorest nations. The step may make some important new medicines more affordable in the developing world, by leaving the way clear for generic companies to make cheap copies of GSK's drugs. Rohit Malpani, director of policy and advocacy at Medecins Sans Frontieres, gives his reaction.

The Argentine Congress has taken an important step towards resolving the country's long legal battle over a default on its foreign debt. It has agreed to repeal legislation making it impossible for the government to carry out an agreement with a group of creditors who have been seeking repayment through the US courts. President Mauricio Macri has favoured the deal. The previous Argentine leader, Cristina Fernandez, had refused to negotiate,  describing the creditors as vultures. BBC South America business correspondent, Daniel Gallas, has the latest.

Zaha Hadid, the award winning architect  and designer of some of the world's most famous modern buildings, has died of a heart attack at the age of 65. She was born in Iraq but became a British citizen. Zaha Hadid had designed high-profile buildings across the world including the Guangzhou Opera House in China and the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games. How important was she? Anna Winston is editor of the online architecture magazine Dezeen.

Roger Hearing is joined throughout the programme by Tony Nash chief economist at Complete Intelligence in Singapore and Shikha Dalmia, a senior analyst at Reason Foundation in Detroit, Michigan.

(Photo: View of GlaxoSmithKline headquarters in west London. Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)

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