In another effort to boost development of malaria medicines GlaxoSmithKline is providing free public access to its library of 13,500 compounds that have shown some activity against the disease.

GSK CEO Andrew Witty doesn't pretend this is a step toward developing emerging markets, but it offers GSK the chance to show it cares about providing access to medicines for least developed countries.

For years, drug makers have been skewered for failing to do more to make their meds widely available in various countries. Over the past year, the Glaxo CEO has managed to alter many perceptions by conveying a willingness to listen and act (¹ The IN VIVO Blog, Jan. 20, 2009).

Witty announced the initiative on Jan. 20, first at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and then to reporters at an event hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences in lower Manhattan.

Witty said that five scientists screened more than two million molecules in the last 12 months and found 13,500 hits that could lead to malaria treatments. The chemical structures will be available at no cost to researchers interested in using them for development of malaria treatments in least developed countries. Use for any other indications would require negotiations with GSK.

Witty also announced that GSK was setting up an "open lab" at its research centre in Tres Cantos, Spain so that up to 60 scientists from around the world can work with GSK scientists and use the company's 'industrial' technology. The drug maker is also providing seed funding of $8 million to help scientists get research ideas off the ground.

"We're trying to signal here a willingness to try alternative things" to stimulate more malaria drug discovery, Witty said.

On a personal level, Witty added that having traveled through least developed countries he was "passionate about the opportunity" to make a difference.

These new initiatives expand upon the proposal Witty announced last year for companies to pool their patents to develop medicines for neglected tropical diseases (² Also see "GSK Wades Into The Pooled Approach To Tropical Disease Research" - Pink Sheet, 23 February, 2009.). Only one company, Alnylam, responded to GSK's call, agreeing to contribute 1,500 patents on its RNA interference technology.

BIO Ventures To Oversee Patent Pool

GSK and Alnylam also announced on Jan. 20 that they had chosen BIO Ventures for Global Health to administer the patent pool. The non-profit organization seeks to accelerate development of novel biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines and diagnostics to address the unmet medical needs of the developing world.

Witty said he was not surprised that other pharma companies have not joined its patent pool. "I can completely understand why they take their time," he stated. "I'm still pretty optimistic."

As for the compounds GSK is making publicly available, Witty acknowledged that the limited funding for malaria drug development is an issue.

To help with that, GSK is providing an initial seed investment of $8 million to establish a not-for-profit foundation to fund individual researchers. Witty added that if someone pursues one of the 13,500 compounds, and later asks GSK for financial assistance, the company would consider doing so.

ViiV Health Care Meets With UNITAID

GSK has five malaria compounds in preclinical or clinical testing and a malaria vaccine, RTS,S, in Phase III trials. Witty said development on the vaccine will be completed in two years. He noted that GSK intends to price the vaccine at the cost of making it plus five percent return on investment, which will be reinvested into R&D for second generation malaria vaccines.

Witty was asked whether GSK would participate in the AIDS patent pool that the drug purchasing group UNITAID is trying to establish. He replied that a team from ViiV Healthcare, the joint subsidiary GSK and Pfizer formed in November to develop and market HIV and AIDS drugs, had met with UNITAID in the last two days "in the spirit of getting the details hammered out."

He said GSK is aligned with the goals of UNITAID's initiative. The group has identified 19 products from nine companies for potential inclusion in the patent pool (³ Also see "AIDS Patent Pool Garners Support From Industry, But Pharma Companies Want Flexibility In Pricing Between Countries" - Pink Sheet, 21 December, 2009.). One issue pharma has raised is whether middle-income countries will have access to generic versions of the drugs and under what terms.

Witty cited GSK's own efforts to improve access to AIDS drugs in least developed countries. He noted that the company has eight voluntary licenses for HIV drugs, each of which covers 44 countries. He also said that generic manufacturers in India and Africa last year supplied four times more volume of drugs than GSK did.

Witty noted that last year GSK invested 20 percent of the profits it obtained in least developed countries, about £1.5 million, into those countries' infrastructure. He said GSK was hoping to identify two or three partners to serve as a delivery vehicle for investment.

One potential partner is the African Medical and Research Foundation, a Nairobi-based group that creates networks of informed communities that work with health care providers. Witty said he was very impressed with AMREF's ability to build local capacity, noting that the group had trained five villages in Uganda to give vaccinations.

GSK also announced that it has established a collaboration with the South Africa company iThemba Pharmaceuticals for research and discovery into new medicines to treat tuberculosis.

Brenda Sandburg ( ⁴ b.sandburg@elsevier.com )

GlaxoSmithKline Offering Free Access to Potential Malaria Compounds

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