Today’s WSJ has an interview with GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier. While the bulk of the interview covers the company’s Avandia crisis, JP also kicks some wisdom regarding the “developing world”:
WSJ: Glaxo recently donated 50 million pandemic flu vaccines to the World Heath Organization. What’s the story?
Dr. Garnier: It’s probably the largest vaccine donation ever. The company could have sold possibly those 50 million units. They [Glaxo] decided to set them aside because frankly those countries are not going to buy any pandemic vaccine. Some of them have no commitment to health care.
Let’s call a cat a cat. They’ll buy a lot of other things including Kalashnikovs before they allocate enough money for health care in their own countries.