LONDON, Mar 21 (Reuters) - Leaders of the rich industrial world will study ways to help developing countries access AIDS drugs and other life-saving medicines at their July summit in Genoa, Italy, a British official said on Wednesday.

Pressure is growing for action, particularly in Africa where a high-profile court case brought by pharmaceutical companies against the South Africa government has highlighted the problem of high-cost treatments which are out of reach of the poor.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown last month unveiled plans for an international purchase fund for medicines and vaccines, and a Treasury spokeswoman said the UK would be pushing this idea forward within the Group of Seven.

"We expect the issue to be discussed at the next G7 finance ministers meeting at the end of April (in Washington) but the detail will probably come out at the main meeting in Genoa," she told Reuters.

"We are working closely with the Italians who are very keen on the initiative as well," she added. Italy holds the rotating G7 presidency and will host the Genoa summit on July 20-22, which will also include Russia to form the G8.

Drug companies, under attack for their insistence on patent protection in developing countries and facing mounting competition from generic producers, have recently bowed to pressure by cutting prices in Africa.

Merck and Co and Bristol-Myers Squibb both recently announced sharp price reductions while GlaxoSmithKline said it planned to widen its scheme to provide antiretroviral therapies at discounts in excess of 90 percent.

Sub-Saharan Africa--the world's poorest region--has been ravaged by the AIDS pandemic, accounting for more than 25 million of the 36 million people infected with the HIV virus worldwide.

The International Red Cross criticized the industry earlier this month, saying humanitarian needs should prevail over commercial concerns.

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