Oxfam says the pharmaceuticals industry is failing to capture the full potential of emerging markets.

The pharmaceutical industry is undermining its own future as millions of poor people in developing nations are denied access to medicines, a new report by charity Oxfam claims.

According to the report, ‘Investing for Life’, the industry is refusing to change the way it does business in developing countries and therefore ‘failing to capture the full potential of emerging markets touted as the ‘new frontier’ for business success.’

The industry has failed to implement a fair pricing policy, is neglecting to research and develop medicines for poor people, is overzealous in its protection of patents and relies too heavily on donations, it states.

According to Oxfam, the richest 15% of the world consumes over 90% of its pharmaceuticals – pricing a staggering 85% of the world’s population out of the market.

“The industry is operating in a short-sighted way because it could gain enormous benefits from emerging markets, including lower research and development costs and cheaper manufacturing. Yet instead it continues to blindly use its same strategies in poor countries,” Oxfam’s Head of Research Sumi Dhanarajan said.

Helena Vines-Fiestas, author of the report, highlighted the fact that tuberculosis treatments are suffering in particular. “Even people suffering from tuberculosis – which kills nearly two million people a year – need six months of treatment and the most recent medicine is 30 years old,” she said.

Figures from a major consultancy firm have revealed that a loss of faith in the pharmaceuticals industry on the part of its investors has so far cost shareholders an estimated $1 trillion (£500 billion).

To read the full report, click here.

By Natasha Piscitelli