Big pharma attempts to cast off bad reputation by targeting the poor

Pharmaceutical companies are creating new business models to meet the needs of the global poor. Is it enlightened self-interest or calculated profiteering?

Big pharma isn't known for its fair dealing in the global South. Infamously, the high cost of patented HIV antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in the early 2000s priced out developing countries and millions died. Patent wars still rage, notably in India and South Africa, as the industry attempts to maintain monopolies on life-saving drugs.

So why is pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZ) funding an 18-month pilot with five separate NGOs in Kenya to improve health services for hypertension patients and discounting its core hypertension drugs by 90% in the process? Is big pharma finally getting serious about meeting the needs of the global poor?