London, UK – 16 October 2003 – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced further action to help the world’s poorest countries meet the unique challenges of HIV/AIDS. In keeping with its commitment to pass on cost savings in the manufacture of antiretrovirals (ARVs), the company has again reduced the not-for-profit prices of its HIV/AIDS medicines for qualifying countries and organisations. It has also extended the voluntary licence granted to Aspen Pharmacare, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest generics company, for the manufacture and sale of antiretrovirals.

The latest reduction lowers the not-for-profit price of Combivir – the backbone of HIV/AIDS treatment regimens currently recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – from US$ 0.90 cents to 0.65 cents per day. GSK has also reduced the not-for-profit price of many of its other HIV/AIDS medicines. For example, Epivir is now available at US$ 0.19 cents per day, and Retrovir at US$ 0.58 cents per day.

The price reductions announced today are made possible by further improvements in the manufacturing process as well as the economies of scale achieved. To date, GSK has secured over 150 arrangements to supply preferentially priced HIV/AIDS medicines to 56 countries. In the six months from April to September 2003, GSK shipped over 6 million tablets of preferentially priced Combivir.

The current voluntary licence granted to Aspen Pharmacare, which relates to the manufacture and sale of Combivir, Epivir and Retrovir, covers only the public sector in South Africa and Zimbabwe. GSK is now extending this licence to include both the public and private sectors and all countries in the Sub-Saharan region.

"The HIV/AIDS pandemic presents a unique challenge to the global community. The actions we are announcing today demonstrate our commitment to playing an integral role in the global response through sustainable preferential pricing, partnership and community investment, and research and development of new medicines and vaccines to fight disease," said Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline.

In response to the announcement, Dr. Jack C. Chow, Assistant Director-General of the WHO for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria said:

"WHO welcomes these proactive steps taken by GSK to lower prices and extend its license for the generic manufacture and sale of antiretrovirals in sub-Saharan Africa. Such steps will contribute to the expansion of ARV therapy in resource-poor settings and accelerate progress towards the WHO’s goal of providing life-saving ARVs to three million people by the end of 2005.

"When combined with the building of health infrastructures, innovative public-private partnerships and the training of national health workforces, the company's efforts are a major gain in the campaign in support of people living with HIV/AIDS."

The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn MP, said:

"I very much welcome this announcement from GlaxoSmithKline, particularly the extension of their voluntary licence with Aspen, which will help increase access to essential medicines in developing countries. If we are to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, much more is required from developing country governments, industry and donors. The UK is committed to play our part, through treatment and prevention. And what we must not forget is that if poor people are to get access to medicines they also need a functioning health system."

Notes for Editors

GSK is the leading supplier of HIV/AIDS medicines and also an industry leader in the research and development of medicines and vaccines for diseases of the developing world, including an HIV/AIDS vaccine. The company believes it is the only company researching the prevention and treatment of all three of the World Health Organisation's priority diseases in the developing world: HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

This announcement reflects GlaxoSmithKline's long-standing and continuing commitment to improve access to medicines in developing countries. GSK has been offering substantial discounts on vaccines to governments, charities and agencies for public health programmes for over 20 years.

GSK pioneered sustainable preferential pricing for antiretrovirals in 1997, when the company made Retrovir available for use in mother-to-child transmission reduction programmes in the developing world at up to 75% off the global price. In 2000, the company became a founding member of the Accelerating Access Initiative (AAI), a public-private partnership to increase sustained access to appropriate, good quality intervention in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including antiretroviral therapy.

In 2001, the company expanded its access programme, lowered its preferential prices and extended not-for-profit preferential pricing to more customers, countries and medicines. It also promised to continue to find ways to reduce costs and pass those savings on to patients, In September 2002 and April 2003, further price reductions lowered the single not-for-profit price of Combivir to $0.90.

Today’s price reductions reflect improvements in the cost of goods and the manufacturing process. These include re-engineering of the manufacturing process to reduce cost and complexity; new purchasing agreements and bringing more of the manufacturing process in-house.

GSK's single, not-for-profit prices are available to a wide range of customers in the United Nation’s list of Least Developed Countries and all of sub-Saharan Africa - a total of 63 countries. They are also available to all projects fully financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Eligible customer groups include governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), aid agencies, UN agencies and other international purchase funds. Additionally, in sub-Saharan Africa, employers who offer HIV/AIDS care and treatment to uninsured staff are also eligible for GSK's not-for-profit prices for antiretrovirals.

In recent months there have been many important developments in HIV/AIDS, such as the Bush Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the G8 commitments on access to medicines, disbursements by the Global Fund and increased focus from the WHO. GSK believes more is required. A significant increase in resources is still needed, and every measure must be taken to prevent diversion and ensure medicines reach the patients for whom they are intended. It is also important to maintain incentives for R&D through protection of intellectual property - for example, there is neither a cure nor a vaccine yet for HIV/AIDS; and existing medicines for HIV/AIDS face the challenge of resistance.

Improved healthcare in the developing world can only be delivered if the significant barriers that stand in the way of better access are tackled as a shared responsibility by all sectors of global society - governments, international agencies, charities, academic institutions, the pharmaceutical industry and others.

GSK continues to offer its anti-malarials at sustainable not-for-profit prices to eligible customers in the 63 countries, but the prices of these are unchanged because economies of scale have not occurred.

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