January 2010 Archives

Ricki Lake, actress and talk show host, served as moderator for the panel which included Emme, plus-size model; Brad Lamm, board-certified interventionist; Dr. Susan Blumenthal, former Assistant Surgeon General; Tom Arnold, actor and comedian; Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD and obesity expert, and Dr. Andrea Pennington, medical doctor and wellness coach.

Panel and audience members alike provided candid, and sometimes emotional, perspectives on the role of food in their lives. Comedian Tom Arnold described growing up without a mother and being raised by two grandmothers who loved to watch him eat. "Food was love."

Up-and-coming actress Kay Cee Stroh from Disney's High School Musical was in tears and brought the rest of us to the brink as well as she spoke of her overweight sister who was sometimes taunted by fellow shoppers at the grocery store about what she was purchasing. Help for people who are overweight must be offered with love and not judgment, she said.

Two thirds of Americans are now either overweight or obese. It is a complex issue that even Academy award-winning director Barry Levinson is taking on. The Creative Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group which focuses on social issues, announced this week that Levinson will direct a documentary focused on obesity to help people recognize and overcome their unhealthy eating habits. The educational film project is being sponsored solely by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. 

Education is clearly needed as our recent national survey revealed that eight in 10 Americans believe they're in control of their eating habits in spite of soaring obesity rates. The educational film, part of The Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative, is hopefully a step in the right direction to help ensure that predictions that nine out of 10 Americans will be overweight in 2030 don't come true.

To quit or to hope. That is the crossroads where President Obama found himself last night as he delivered the State of the Union address. He left little doubt which path he wants to define his presidency. While admitting the difficulties of last decade, and especially the economic and political difficulties of the last year, he offered stories of resilience from average citizens. The messages of hope and change that were so familiar in his Presidential campaign seemed to find their way forward again.

He confirmed job creation, hot health reform, will be his top domestic priority for 2010. Yet, he also called upon Congress not to let health reform wither away. In a somewhat surprising moment, his determination was received with applause from both Democrats and Republicans. It seems members on both sides of the aisle recognize that last week's Massachusetts Senate election does not change the fact that America's health system is on an unsustainable path. Chronic diseases account for an astonishing 75 percent of health spending. In their 2009 facts and figures report, the Alzheimer's Association predicts that Alzheimer's alone will bankrupt our current health system as our population ages. We must find ways to get out in front of Alzheimer's and other chronic diseases by improving access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage and services.

GSK maintains its support for appropriate health reform, and we recognize even with President Obama's calls for Congress to finish the job of passing health reform legislation, it may be difficult to agree on a comprehensive piece of legislation this year. But, we, too, are hopeful that Congress and the Administration will find a bipartisan way forward. We encourage leaders in Washington to make every attempt to enact legislation that - at a minimum -- includes prevention and wellness provisions in the current proposals that will help drive down costs for chronic disease. 

In an article in yesterday's LA Times, James Morone, co-author of "The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office" offered an interesting historical glimpse into two possible directions President Obama could take on health reform. He could model the way of Harry Truman and work to leave a legacy for the cause, or he could follow the way of Bill Clinton and all but abandon the effort.  It was clear from his State of the Union address last night, President Obama intends to be like Truman and fight on.

Recently it seems that not a week goes by without a major news outlet reporting on a healthcare professional or scientific researcher with a financial tie to industry.  Most often, the articles endorse the sweeping assumption that financial compensation from a corporation should be considered the black mark of bias on scientific research.  The general premise?  Follow the money.

In yesterday's issue of The New York Times, John Tierney addressed the topic head on.  I think he sums it up best when he states, "Conflict-of-interest accusations have become the simplest strategy for avoiding a substantive debate. The growing obsession with following the money too often leads to nothing but cheap ad hominem attacks."  He asks, "Why are journalists and ethics boards so quick to assume that money, particularly corporate money, is the first factor to look at when evaluating someone's work?"

GSK has taken its fair share of criticism on this topic.  We agree that there is a need to be more transparent.  In fact, in recent years there's been a transformation in how the pharmaceutical industry communicates about its work with healthcare professionals. 

To do our part to be transparent, GSK, like others, is now publishing quarterly reports of our payments to physicians for speaking and advising, as well as the grants we provide to various organizations.  Next year we plan to publish our first report of research payments.

We believe this is one way to improve patients' understanding of how the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare providers work together to improve patient care.   What it comes down to is that sharing this information also is in keeping with GSK's values--to be patient-focused, to work with the highest integrity, to be transparent in our actions, and to treat everyone with respect. 

However, we also can't lose sight of the fact that healthcare professionals bring knowledge and perspective from their experience that they share (with GSK and with other healthcare professionals) to help improve patient care.   Hearing about the research and real life case studies from those on the front  lines, facing complex disease states, is important to advancing healthcare.  The fact is that healthcare professionals often learn best from their peers and colleagues.   Professionals with unique insight and knowledge in their fields who work with industry should be fairly compensated for the services they provide.

That is not to say that there shouldn't be rules governing how this is done.  GSK has guidelines about how we work together to ensure that HCPs are appropriately compensated for work they perform for us to help us improve patient care. 

Clearly explaining who the company is financially compensating--and why--is important, and we will continue doing more of it.   We also need to spend more time explaining why collaboration between GSK and health care experts--healthcare professionals, governments and other experts--is imperative to improving patient care.

And while we're doing that, perhaps it's time that we all agree to follow the science.

A fairly regular post from a busy mom concerned about raising healthy children.

I've been watching First Lady Michelle Obama lately, and not to find out what latest fashion trend she is setting (cardigans for every occasion), but to hear more about her initiative to combat childhood obesity.  

Mrs. Obama started by digging up the White House lawn for a garden just after moving in and has continued to lay the groundwork for this campaign.  Most recently, Mrs. Obama delivered her message to over two hundred mayors at the US Conference of Mayors. 

I can't get one of the statistics Mrs. Obama stated in her remarks out of my mind: "one in three children are overweight or obese."   This is truly frightening.  I've written before how I'm no Iron Chef but that I do my best to make healthy choices for my kids.  Admittedly, there are times when I'm just too exhausted to make healthiest of meals, but hearing this statistic makes me realize how important it is to make the effort.   What will my kids learn if I don't teach them about eating healthy foods - even when the easiest thing would be to get take out!

I'm committed to do this for my family and I'll find ways to make it fun for the kids.  I'm interested to see the full details on Mrs. Obama's initiative which is to be unveiled in a few weeks and I'm glad that she is keeping the spotlight on such a critical issue.

(P. S.  Mrs. Obama hosted Iron Chef at the White House Kitchen with the kitchen garden as secret ingredient!)

The following guest post is from our colleague, Scott, in R&D.  Scott is part of the first wave of GSK's PULSE volunteer program launched last year (we wrote about it here).

I have been working at AmeriCares since mid-Oct 2009 on a full time volunteering assignment through GSK's PULSE program.  My assignment  has involved helping to research, develop and implement new IT tools and applications to help their lean, yet amazingly productive staff "do more with less."  

For most of my time here, Mother Nature appeared to have been on a bit of an extended vacation, but the earthquake in Haiti quickly reminded us how important it is for organizations like AmeriCares to be prepared.  I have found it extremely inspiring to see how quickly AmeriCares jumped into action with "all hands on deck."  In a blink of an eye, I saw this organization transform into an amazing action machine in the way they planned and executed delivery of $6MM of humanitarian aid--as if it were really just second nature to them.

In the planning and briefing sessions immediately after the Haiti earthquake, you could see the passion, commitment, and confidence on AmeriCares folks' faces, in the stride of their steps, and in the tone of their voices.  They have been there and done that (many times).  This is what they have been trained to do--and they are masters of it!

In a matter of hours after the quake hit, plans were in place to put AmeriCares disaster relief workers on the ground, not only in Haiti, but along the supply chain route from Connecticut to Miami to the Dominican Republic to Haiti, to shepherd the humanitarian aid that was being dispatched.   The first airlift of supplies arrived safety in Port-au-Prince on Sunday.  The challenge now is to deploy supplies to the appropriate sites as soon as possible. 

I am honored to have the opportunity to support this organization's special mission in my own small way.

A year has passed since the US elected Barack Obama as our 44th President.

Traditionally, for the first anniversary, a gift made of paper is in order, which seems to make sense, as Obama's historic Presidency has ushered in an era of legislative activity not seen since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  They went through a lot of paper this year, and could use a few reams to replenish, we imagine.  (Coincidentally, More Than Medicine shares the same anniversary, but paper is so Old Media). 

In the last 365 days, we saw, among other things, the beginning of a major effort to transform the US healthcare system.  Efforts to achieve reform became more complicated last night when Massachusetts, the bluest of the blue states, elected a Republican to this seat for the first time since 1947.  Political observers have declared that this election is a complete game changer for the White House's healthcare agenda 

Early on in this process, President Obama asked major players in the healthcare industry to commit to improving access to health services for all Americans. Our industry rose to this challenge.  In an agreement with President Obama and the Senate Finance Committee, we pledged to help expand prescription drug coverage to seniors whose prescription drug costs fall in the "doughnut hole," the insurance coverage gap in Medicare Part D, by offering a 50% discount for all branded prescriptions in the doughnut hole. This pledge, along with several others made by our industry as part of the PhRMA Agreement, will help the underserved access critical medicines that will improve and extend their lives. 

President Obama realizes the importance our companies play in the overall health of this nation and he deserves credit for not shying away from tackling a difficult and controversial issue.  While we've agreed with his overall goals, there are important differences in our approach.  The President has publicly said he is in favor of importing foreign pharmaceuticals into the US.  This could have a lasting, harmful effect that undermines the role of the Food and Drug Administration. It also brings the possibility of counterfeits, incorrect dosages and drugs that could have different pharmacokinetics into the realm of our healthcare delivery system.  Further, healthcare providers who write prescriptions assume that the script is for a drug approved by FDA. 

As we look ahead to President Obama's second year in office, we hope he will make good on his campaign pledge to make the Research & Development Tax credit permanent.  This tax credit is available only for R&D done in the US.  For foreign companies looking to open a plant in the US, thus creating jobs, this tax credit is a significant factor in their decision.  By making this tax credit permanent, he can ensure American companies, or foreign subsidiaries will continue to invest their R&D dollars in the US and in American workers.

We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress on these and other issues that will ultimately ensure the US healthcare system continues to be the world's best.

For GSK to really embrace open innovation, we must first be more open with our intellectual property. Last year, we announced that we would put 800 patents and patent applications into the public domain--commonly known as a 'patent pool'--to help the search for new medicines for neglected tropical diseases. Since we made that announcement, one small company, Alnlyam, has joined us. We hope others will join--and not just companies, but NGOs, not-for-profits, academics.

But our approach will go much further than just patents.  We will allow access to our general "know how" and other knowledge and expertise. In fact we shouldn't call the pool a patent pool--we should call it a knowledge pool, because so much more than just patents are included.

That is why the second element of our open innovation strategy was to create a new concept called the Open Lab which will be part of our Tres Cantos Medicines Development Campus in Spain, dedicated to discovering new medicines for diseases of the developing world.

We are creating capacity for up to 60 outside researchers at our Tres Cantos Campus.  At the Open Lab, researchers will be able to pursue their projects as part of a drug discovery team, allowing these visiting experts to tap into our expertise, facilities, knowledge and industrial-scale infrastructure.  In addition to the resources and benefits-in-kind we are putting into this project, we will also set up a not-for-profit foundation to help fund these research projects, with initial seed funding from us of US$8 million.

This concept has already gained some traction. We are in discussions with two organizations--on projects for malaria and on TB--and we hope to conclude agreements soon and welcome these scientists into the Open Lab.

The third element of our open innovation strategy is to share our malaria drug-development expertise with the world's scientific community. How? Well, we have recently screened our entire compound library for molecules that inhibit the malaria parasite P. falciparum, the deadliest form of malaria found primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. This exercise has identified more than 13,500 'hits' that inhibited the parasite.

Today I am pleased to announce that we commit to put these 13,500 compounds, their chemical structures and associated assay data, into the public domain, making them freely available on leading scientific websites. Over 85% of these are proprietary to GSK. Our hope and expectation is that this will encourage further research by the scientific community on these findings and the opportunities they offer.

We believe that we are the first company to put in the public domain this level of data--and critically these specific chemical structures--from the screening of the entire compound library.  By putting together our compounds, access to our patents and know-how and access to our R&D center and infrastructure we are demonstrating our commitment to R&D for the NTDs.

I just returned from the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.  If you haven't been, it's quite an event--imagine a mosh pit for more than 3,500 investment bankers, financial analysts, venture capitalists and healthcare executives from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, dental, diagnostics and benefit management businesses.

That's right, thousands of men and women in dark suits, crammed elbow-to-elbow in the halls and meeting rooms of the historic Westin St. Francis Hotel looking for the next big thing in healthcare.   One TV commentator termed it the "Superbowl of Healthcare Conferences."  With multiple presentations taking place every half hour for four days, and countless one-on-one and group meetings among the financial and healthcare exes, it resembles a highly orchestrated exercise in speed dating.  GSK CEO Andrew Witty presented on Tuesday and a webcast of his presentation can be found here.

The meeting is a must for many in healthcare because it offers attendees opportunities to get updates on company strategies and seek out possible collaborations within a highly concentrated time and place.  This annual event--this was the 28^th--shows that even in this age of ubiquitous telecommunications and connectivity, we still highly value looking someone in the eye.  Face-to-face: there is no substitute.

And that's what the GSK team was up to at the meeting--300 face-to-face meetings with current partners and potential new collaborators.  That's not to suggest that we'll strike 300 new deals on the heels of the meeting, but it's a great way to get connected or stay in touch.  With upwards of 40 collaborations in place, and a sizeable percentage of our R&D efforts done through partnerships, we have a lot to stay connected with and clearly want to find and check out new ways to hook up.

The devastation in Haiti is unimaginable for so many of us, and as mentioned yesterday, we're doing everything we can to support ongoing relief efforts.  That includes providing large quantities of GSK medicines, mainly oral and topical antibiotics, for the first airlifts into the island.  Our Community Partnership colleagues tell us that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, pallets of clearly packaged, relevant medicines are most needed.   We will also be making a cash donation to support recovery and all employees' gifts to The Red Cross and other relief organizations will be matched by the company.

As with so many others here in the states, the people of GSK US also have very intimate, personal connections to the tragedy.  Our colleague Maria, an assistant in our group, is very active in a church here in Philadelphia that has long supported a "sister" church community in Haiti.  The following is her report:

After hearing the devastating news about Haiti this morning, I immediately contacted my church family to inquire about our Haitian church, Christian Haitian Outreach overseen by Mother Eleanor Workman (central office is in Miami).  Unfortunately we have learned that the school and orphanage has been severely damaged, to what extent we don't know, but fortunately all the children are safe as well as Mother Workman.  This Haitian Church is part of International Fellowship of Churches, which is part of Sanctuary Church of the Open Door in Philadelphia under the auspices of Bishop Audrey F. Bronson.  Some 10 years ago, our Pastor had a vision to start churches internationally, though Mother Workman has been a part of our church family since the 70's. 

We support Haiti by sending non-perishables, clothes and financial support on a monthly basis and have also built a water tower to service the orphanage and school.  Mother Workman is now 90 years old but still returns to us every Mother's Day with at least 3 of her children to share the miracles that occur.  She is a joy to converse with and she loves to teach and sing.

We are now mobilizing every resource we can to send help and prayers to Mother Workman and our church in Haiti.

Across most of the US, it seems to be cold, right?  Here in Philadelphia, the weather reporters keep talking about a 'January thaw' but I'm not feeling any relief.  I am not a treadmill runner and in the past have enjoyed running in the cold--but this is ridiculous!   Last night it took some real motivation (guilt?) for me to actually go through with my run.   

What I like about running--the freedom and flexibility--has been stolen from me during this 'arctic blast'!  Now, instead of just running out the door I make sure I'm wearing the appropriate amount and correct types of layers--this takes some serious thought, by the way.  No wonder we all worry about winter weight gain!  These cold temps, slick sidewalks and snowy roads make it difficult to get out the door either for a run or to get to the gym! 

I've decided that to help me through this cold season I'm going to take advantage of one of the benefits of GSK--the fitness center!  I've signed myself up for a Pilates class and will attempt a run on a treadmill--who knows I might like it.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Haiti affected by the terrible earthquake.  In addition to those important wishes, as with other major catastrophes, our GSK colleagues in Community Partnerships have put our own emergency-response process into action.  The first step is checking with humanitarian relief partners like the Red Cross and Americares and contacting our own company representatives on the ground to determine how we can help (typically through product donation).  These communications are happening as we write.

Click here for an overview of our approach to tragedies like that in Haiti.  We'll try and provide further updates as appropriate.  In the meantime, you can go to www.redcross.org to help support relief efforts.

From our friends at WeissComm Partners, a great collection of last year's most important/influential stories.  What stories will we be talking about in 2011?

Starting from a list of more than 500 news articles and blog posts, WCG developed a simple algorithm to zero in on the Top 10 stories from 2009.  The ranking, highlighted below, considers factors such as the number of websites that link to an article, how many people commented on it, how broadly it was disseminated in Twitter and top social bookmarking sites, and how many websites referenced the article's headline.

We're back!

I'll tell you, I am really fortunate to work for a company that shuts down the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  I feel very energized and ready for 2010. 

Yesterday's New York Times featured an article on Twitter, and why it will endure as a standard tool for communicating on the web. 

It made a nice counterpoint to the number of opinions out there as to why Twitter will fail (some of which, I am sure, have been tweeted and retweeted).

As a pharmaceutical company, we are still navigating the social media waters since we are highly regulated.  But even though we are not tweeting about our products, I have found Twitter to be an invaluable tool for communicating to/with others.  I use it sort of like the online retailing trick of "Others who bought this item also bought this item."  I am following others because I value their opinions, so their tweets and retweets are important.

I hope our use of Twitter will continue to evolve because I tend to agree with the Times author...Twitter seems to be sticking around.