Multinational pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is making thousands of possible new anti-malarial chemicals available for research, free of patents. UK newspaper The Guardian  says it's hoped the move will speed up the fight against the disease.

Without patents it will be far cheaper to develop the 13,500 chemicals into medicines. GlaxoSmithKline director Andrew Witty says big companies should not only be motivated by profits but also by social responsibility.
 

Malaria kills millions of people each year in Africa, Asia and South America. GlaxoSmithKline pledged last year to release all its information on potential new medicines for neglected diseases so that any scientist could do research on them. The company hopes other multinationals will follow suit.

photos: Global malaria regions (flickr / ATWJ - mhoey.eu) and malaria mosquito (vaccinatiecentrum.eu)