Why should the Pharmaceutical Industry care?

Some may argue that it should be up to those nations affected by such problems to invest in appropriate research, that the private corporations cannot be expected to solve all of the world’s problems and that it is unfair to point to such companies and criticize them as they would also go broke from such activities. However:

• The western nations that the corporations are based in have, through colonialism, and post-war global economics, fostered an environment that have led to further poverty and dependency of the poorer nations on the first world countries.
• Post war policies from the IMF and World Bank have forced most developing countries to cut back on such social expenditure as health and education, in the first place. Most countries are in a downward spiral due to their policies.
• Medical and pharmaceutical companies often tout their strengths of having vast capital resources to do research, bringing benefits to humanity the world over. Unfortunately though, tropical disease cures are not profitable for them because most people with such diseases are too poor to afford cures.

[Excerpt of research compilation by Anup Shah]