Health-care activists have maintained that the system for granting patents on drugs consistantly denies the less fortunate access to essential medicines, discouraging pharmaceutical firms from collaborating to develop new ones for neglected diseases. Several initiatives announced this week, some which focus on collaboration and others on transparency may help remedy those long-standing problems.

On the 14th of July, GlaxosmithKline announced that it would waive patent restrictions to allow generic drugs firms to copy its HIV drugs for sale in poor countries. A specatcular CSR initative and truly a worthwhile iniative for the British drugs giant, the waiver includes Abacavir, an advanced therapy used when the inital treatment of the disease fails. In fact, GSK earlier announced that it would also share its research and patent portfolios with Pfizer, an American rival, in the hope of accelerating drug development in this area.

Novartis also plans to relax its patent position. The Swiss-based drugs firm announced a partnership with the Institute for OneWorldHelath, a non-profit research outfit, to develop drugs for secretory diarrhoea, a leading killer of children in poor countries.

Another potential advance came this week as Cambia, another non-profit organization in Australia and Queensland University of Technology unveiled the Global Initative for Open Innovation. Backed with funds from the Gates foundation, the plan will combine open-access software and sophisticated search features to make the confusing thicket of drugs patents accessible to researchers the world over.

These are just a few great steps that showcase drugs giants and non-profits working together as health care activists to better the world for initatives that go beyond CSR.