In a letter to The Guardian published today, Chris Strutt, GlaxoSmithKline's Senior VP of government affairs, public policy and patient advocacy, says the drugmaker has already been in discussions with Unitaid regarding an HIV patent pool and is open to further meetings. "We have not ruled out the possibility of participating in the pool, but have yet to see any real proposal that provides benefits beyond GSK's existing approach," Strutt wrote.
That information was apparently not passed on to GSK CEO Andrew Witty (photo). According to a report published a month ago in the The Guardian, "Witty says all he knows about Unitaid is what he has read in the papers." Non-profit organizations responded to Witty's comments with a call for Britain's largest drugmaker to meet with Unitaid to discuss contributing HIV-related patents to a pool.
- here's the letter
- Witty's interview with The Guardian