March 2011 Archives

Today GSK issued its 2010 corporate responsibility report, an annual summary of our commitments to conducting business based on strong values and ethical standards. While the report covers a range of issues and topics, the one I am proudest to see is the Company's new commitments to sustainability, including an ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2050. We realize that may seem a long way away, but the fact is that the pharmaceutical industry is a significant producer of green house gases and there is a lot of work to be done to get us to our goal. Changes we make today to address this will have an impact on generations to come. 

Along the way we've set interim targets, including reducing GSK's overall carbon footprint by 10% in the next four years and by 25% by 2020. We are also aiming to reduce GSK's operational water consumption by 20% by 2015 and to reduce the waste we send to landfills by 25% by 2015 and to zero by 2020. 

Going green isn't just good for the environment, it's good for business. The company estimates it can save £100 million per year by 2020 through reduced energy, materials and distribution costs. 

We believe we are the first pharmaceutical company to announce a carbon neutral target across all of our operations, and we recognize the need to take a stepwise approach.  Changes are being made across the entire organization--and throughout our supply chain--including making our buildings and equipment more energy efficient, installing on-site renewable technologies, and encouraging the use of collaborative information technologies to reduce the need for business travel. In 2010, we installed North America's largest rooftop solar array at our consumer healthcare regional distribution center in York, Pennsylvania.  

Earlier this year, GSK announced that it would be moving its Center City Philadelphia operations to a new, environmentally-friendly building in the city's Navy Yard. I'm excited about the steps we're taking towards sustainability and look forward to helping GSK meet the environmental challenges that face us all.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or just simply "healthcare reform."  The legislative path to last year's signing ceremony was perhaps the most politically divisive in decades. As the new law celebrates its first birthday, debate in DC and in state Capitols about the law's merits and flaws is no less acrimonious.

If the political back and forth leaves you with more questions than answers, you are not alone. The Kaiser Family Foundation has been tracking public perception of the law for the last year, and more than half--53% of those surveyed--remain confused about the law. This is only a two percentage point improvement from where people were a year ago. This is understandable because many of the law's provisions haven't taken effect yet, 2014 is when we expect to see major changes, but we do know that some Americans have already benefited from the law.

The Department of Health and Human Services posted information today on HealthCare.gov outlining some of what has happened in the last year. For example, seniors participating in Medicare Part D whose prescriptions fell into the coverage gap (or "doughnut hole") received a $250 rebate check in 2010. Beginning in January of this year, they started receiving a 50% discount from manufactures on all branded medications in the coverage gap. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published an excellent document called Closing the Coverage Gap that helps explain this new benefit.

Although the biopharmaceutical industry has already begun to face new financial challenges from the ACA's provisions requiring expanded discounts, rebates and fees, the ACA also includes a number of positive provisions that support the tenets of the Triple Solution for a Healthier America.  These provisions, promoting prevention, intervention, and innovation could help move our system in a positive direction in the long-term by reducing overall costs while improving patient outcomes. For example, effective since 2010, all new health plans must provide coverage without cost-sharing for preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force such as immunizations and well-child visits. U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Kohn nicely detailed all the ACA's prevention provisions in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article.  

At this one year anniversary, it's still very early in the life of the ACA and a long road of implementation is ahead. Change of any kind always comes with some upsides and some downsides. Hopefully in the long-run the upsides will prevail and the law will be successful in increasing access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage and services for millions of Americans. Stay tuned.

Last week I attended a symposium at the US Department of State titled "The Role of Innovation in Addressing Global Health." GSK CEO Andrew Witty had been asked to participate in a roundtable discussion on ideas on how the public and private sectors can work together to overcome diseases of the developing world. The event, hosted by Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats, marked the first time the US Government convened a multi-agency dialogue geared towards creating public-private partnerships to address global health challenges. Representatives from across the global health community--from the White House, State Department, USAID, the President's Malaria Initiative, Health and Human Services (HHS), USTR, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, Sabin Vaccine Institute--participated in the program.

Over the past two years, GSK has expanded a number of its commitments to improve research and development in the field of neglected tropical disease, and to expand access to these medicines. 

Through my work in communications at GSK, I've had the opportunity to hear our executives speak about our commitments to global health many times with great pride.  What always seems to resonate with me is our mission.  Andrew may have said it best at the event when he remarked, "The mission of GSK is very simple--to help people to do more, feel better, live longer. Nowhere in that mission does it say (If they can afford it).  (If they happen to live in the West). It's a simple, broad, all encompassing statement and it essentially encapsulates everyone who works for the company."

We take our responsibility to patients around the world seriously.  It's what drives our tens of thousands of employees to come to work and what inspires us to be more responsive, flexible and open to new ideas that address the challenges that face us.

Learn more about how GSK contributes to the developing world, as well as innovative ideas being pursued by the US Government and NGO community. 

We learned this week that the pharmaceutical industry invested a record $67.4 billion in research and development in 2010, up from $65.9 billion in 2009. In these challenging economic times, this is encouraging news. It means scientists are hard at work searching for new medicines and vaccines that offer the promise of improved health for many Americans. Also encouraging is the fact that more than 3,000 medicines are currently in clinical trials or FDA review in the US, up from 2,400 in 2005, increasing our chances of finding ways to combat some of our most burdensome diseases.

If you are like me and have watched a loved one suffer through Alzheimer's disease, you know the personal and financial toll it can take. A recent report from the Alzheimer's Association found that on our current trajectory Alzheimer's disease (AD) in adults over 65 will cost $1 trillion per year by 2050 and a total of $20 trillion in the next 40 years. New disease-modifying treatments could change that trajectory.  A new treatment that delays the onset of AD by 5 years would push back the growth in new cases reducing the number of people with the disease by 43% and saving $447 billion a year by 2050.

My job involves policy and politics and these are not arenas where people generally agree on much, but I think we would all agree that increasing investment in research gives us hope for a healthier tomorrow.

Some time ago, our CEO, Andrew Witty, issued an innovation challenge to IT: find new ways that technology can help the business. Our IT team started doing research on how to reach doctors in developing worlds, where the geography is vast, through the internet and mobile devices. We kept coming across news unrelated to our project--devastating news about counterfeit medicines and the harm they bring patients.

Counterfeit medicines are a big problem in Africa; an estimated 10-30% of the products sold are counterfeit. The counterfeit products, often sold in open markets, vary from toothpaste to medications for life-threatening conditions. There's no way to know what is real and what is fake.

Last summer, I read an interesting article about mobile phone use and technology in Africa. A man from Ghana had started a small start-up company in the US using SMS texting to protect consumers from counterfeit products.  My team and I called the company to learn more, and we liked what we heard.

We talked to the General Manager in Nigeria and then made the connections between the various GSK groups in Nigeria, Manufacturing, IT and Corporate.  Manufacturing, as it turns out, was already doing a serialization project to assign individual numerical identifiers to products. We decided to launch a pilot in Nigeria.

The way it works is simple. Every package of our antibiotic (1.7 million units in all) has a unique, scratch-off code. Consumers send the code via a SMS text message to a central, toll-free phone number for verification. The mobile service looks up the code and sends a verification text back to the consumer. Consumers can also call a toll-free phone number if they have any questions.

In February 2011, when the codes began to appear on the packaging, consumers immediately began to text. The initial numbers were so high, reaching 1,000 texts per day within the first few weeks, we almost didn't believe them. This month, GSK and the Nigerian regulatory agency will launch an awareness campaign, and we expect the numbers to climb.  If the pilot shows continued success, we'll plan to expand the program to other products and other countries.

Consumers now have the power to detect fake drugs. That's an innovation we can all be proud of.

This week, the Senate passed an important piece of legislation that would strengthen our nation's patent system, spurring innovation and creating jobs. If enacted into law, The America Invests Act will make the first major reforms to America's patent system in 60 years. Imagine all the inventions and changes in technology that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has seen during that time. The legislation passed by the Senate will give the USPTO the tools and funding it needs to process patents in a more effective and efficient way and make America more competitive in the global marketplace.

Millions of jobs in America have their roots in innovation--including the 3.1 million jobs supported by the biopharmaceutical research sector. In 2009, biopharmaceutical companies invested more than $65 billion on the discovery and development of medicines, and roughly 2,900 compounds are currently being studied in the United States--more than in any other region. These figures are impressive given the current challenges that face the biopharmaceutical industry as patents on many familiar medicines expire. Duff Wilson's  New York Times article on March 6 and a follow-up piece by the American Council on Science and Health explain what's at stake, not only for the biopharmaceutical industry as a whole but for the patients we serve. Strengthening America's patent system with The America Invests Act is only one piece of this big picture, but it's an important move in the right direction. As President Obama said in his State of the Union address earlier this year, "The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation."

This week, we announced the launch of our new Community Pharmacy Team (CPT).  The CPT represents one of the most clear cut examples of what we mean when we talk about being of value to our customers. 

Retail pharmacists have a critical impact on patient adherence and the proper utilization of medicines.  They are a valuable source of information for patients and the last point of contact between the patient and the prescription.  At GSK, we've recognized the importance of this customer segment and the role they play in the healthcare system. We have fully committed to this new division, which is the first of its kind in our industry.

Over the last 18 months, we conducted an in-depth analysis to better understand the pharmacy customer and determine how we can best collaborate with community pharmacists across the U.S.  What we've learned is that the interactions pharmacists have with patients have shifted from dispensing and simple counseling to new and more sophisticated patient interventions. So we're responding by developing a CPT team comprised primarily of pharmacists and including other healthcare professionals, who are uniquely qualified to understand and respond to the needs of our pharmacy customers.  The CPT team will ensure that community pharmacists have customized programs, tools and resources to help improve their conversations with patients on chronic diseases as well as the appropriate use of GSK medicines to treat those diseases.  

This is such an exciting opportunity...and the right thing to do for customers and our patients. 

Plus, you can visit the World of GSK--a related interactive feature--while you're at it.

Our colleague, Marilyn Foote-Hudson, the executive director of GSK's NC Foundation, recently presented at the United Nations 55^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Below are excerpts from her remarks:

We are living in one of the most exciting eras of science and technology in history, but the real question becomes: how do we engage our young people--especially our girls and young women--and keep them engaged? So, what are some solutions? What strategies should we be using to get girls and women interested in science, and then how do we support them when they start out?

 

First, we know that mentoring is the key to advancing women in the sciences.  One of our flagship programs is the GlaxoSmithKline Women in Science Scholars program. We launched this program in 1993, because we knew that women were underrepresented in science. When we started, we established endowed scholarships at 11 North Carolina colleges and universities. Over the years, the program has expanded to the current level of 29 schools, including major universities and smaller colleges all across the state. We have now invested more than $1.6 million in this program.

 

This program offers students both the wonders of science and the wisdom of women, because the way it works is two-fold: first, we establish endowments at each university to provide scholarships to two women science majors each year. Additionally, we match professional women at GlaxoSmithKline who volunteer to serve as mentors to the students, providing one-on-one interaction and perspectives on working in the sciences. Many of these women had to overcome hurdles when they entered the field, so they provide invaluable advice to these students based on their own life experiences. It has been very rewarding to see these energetic, dynamic young women embrace the sciences, and it has sparked a genuine interest on the part of the mentors, as well.

 

Our scholars also apply for competitive summer internships working in GSK research labs. More than one has told us her internship has helped shape her career decisions by opening doors to the many possibilities for careers in science. And many of our mentors have reported that they find their relationships with the students most fulfilling.  In fact, in a survey of the mentors, they report that they get more from participating than they give!