Glaxo halves price of AIDS drug for poor

Glaxosmithkline Plc, the world’s largest maker of HIV/AIDS drugs, said on Monday, it had cut the price of its leading Combivir treatment in poor countries by 47 per cent to under $1 a day. The move is the latest sign the international pharma industry is bowing to pressure to improve access to life-saving antiretroviral medicines in the developing world.

GSK’s second price cut in seven months brings the cost of Combivir to governments, non-government organisations and many employers down to 90 US cents per patient a day from $1.70.