GlaxoSmithKline is to cut signi­ficantly the prices of its medicine in emerging economies next spring.

英国制药公司葛兰素史克（GlaxoSmithKline，简称GSK）明年春季将大幅削减其药品在新兴经济体的售价。

“My preference is not a high price and 100 units of profit for 100 patients, but to drop the price and make 100 of profit from 500 patients,” Abbas Hussain, head of emerging markets at the UK pharmaceuticals company, said. “We fundamentally believe access for more of the masses is the way to go.”

GSK新兴市场总裁阿巴斯•侯赛因(Abbas Hussain)表示：“相比实行高药价，从100名患者那里获得100个单位的利润，我更倾向于降价，从500名患者那里获得100个单位的利润。我们从根本上相信，让更多民众买得起药是未来的出路。”

The reductions – expected to reduce prices in most developing countries to below two-thirds of western prices – reflect intensifying efforts by drug companies to tap demand from the faster-growing economies as western markets stagnate.

预计GSK将把大部分发展中国家的药价降至西方水平的三分之二以下。此番降价反映出，随着西方市场陷入停滞，各制药公司开始加大努力，在增长较快的经济体开发需求。

This year Gbola Amusa, a pharma analyst with UBS, said emerging markets would help the sector maintain annual sales growth of at least 3 per cent, and singled out Novartis, Bayer, Novo Nordisk and Teva as beneficiaries.

瑞银(UBS)制药业分析师戈博拉•阿穆萨(Gbola Amusa)表示，新兴市场将帮助该行业保持至少3%的年销售额增长，并指出诺华制药(Novartis)、拜耳(Bayer)、诺和诺德(Novo Nordisk)及以色列梯瓦制药(Teva)将从中受惠。

A number of pharmaceutical groups in recent years have made donations or offered deep discounts in the world's poorest countries on a narrow range of medicines – notably anti-retrovirals for HIV.

近几年，许多制药集团在一些最贫穷的国家捐赠有限的几种药品，或提供大幅折扣——特别是针对艾滋病的抗逆转病毒药物。

GSK and other companies have been forced to reduce prices in recent months by healthcare systems in developing countries. This year the Philippines imposed sharp reductions for all drug manufacturers, and Turkey is poised to demand substantial cuts.

最近数月，发展中国家的医疗体系迫使GSK及其它公司降价。今年，菲律宾强令所有制药商大幅降价，而土耳其看来也将要求大幅降价。

Global pharmaceutical groups have been criticised for “cherry-picking” rich patients in poor countries who can pay western prices, while leaving most of those in need without access to their products.

全球制药集团一向被指责在穷国“挑选”负担得起西方药价的富裕患者，而不顾大多数需要帮助的人买不起他们的药品。

In response, companies have argued that even very large price reductions would leave their medicines unaffordable to the poorest, while creating a risk of “diversion” of lower-priced products back to richer markets, which would undermine prices in the west.

作为回应，这些公司宣称，即使大幅降价，那些最穷的人也买不起它们的药，反而有可能让降价药品“回流”至较富裕的市场，从而破坏西方国家的药价。

Mr Hussain said experiments by GSK in lower-price markets had not led richer countries to demand similar discounts, while exports back into richer countries were “not substantial enough to worry about”.

侯赛因表示，GSK在低药价市场进行的尝试，并未导致较富裕国家要求得到类似的折扣，而回流至富国的降价药“数量不大，无须担忧”。

The US, western Europe and Japan account for the bulk of sales of patented medicines, but the greatest growth is forecast to come from countries such as China, Russia, India and Brazil.

美国、西欧和日本占了绝大部分的专利药销售，但最迅猛的增长预计将来自中国、俄罗斯、印度和巴西等国。

译者/陈云飞