Recently in Corporate Social Responsibility Category

GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty and Save the Children CEO Justin Forsyth visit a family in Wajir, north east Kenya, to launch a unique new partnership to help save one million children's lives.

Today, we announced an ambitious new partnership with Save the Children to save the lives of a million of the poorest children in the world.

While good progress has been made in recent years, almost seven million children die each year through lack of access to basic healthcare, vaccines or nutritious food. Through these and other initiatives, the partnership aims to help save the lives of one million children in the next five years. We're working together in a very different way--sharing expertise, resources, reach and influence to tackle some of the leading causes of childhood deaths.

GSK and Save the Children have been working together for eight years on a number of public health projects, including our initiative to reinvest 20% of the profits we make in the least-developed-countries in community programs to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, primarily through the training of community health workers. We've even sent a number of employees to work with them for extended assignments through our employee volunteer program called PULSE.

Ivy, who works in our Philadelphia office, recently returned from a PULSE assignment with Save the Children. Watch her describe why she is so excited about this new collaboration.

On Saturday, April 20, 2013, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia was transformed into a science wonderland, filled with awe and excitement!

The Philadelphia Science Carnival, a free outdoor event, featured more than 150 exhibits showcasing all types of hands-on science activities and games. The Carnival kicks off the Philadelphia Science Festival, which runs until April 28. GSK is a sponsor, and we had our own exhibit booth. We had 25 employee volunteer helping visitors to conduct science experiments related to the pharmaceutical industry. (I promise they were cool and fun for the kids!)

As a researcher, I was excited to share my love of science with the kids--and parents--who stopped by. One of my coworkers said "It made me realize that we sometimes forget how fortunate we are to be a part of something truly amazing on a daily basis. After a long hard day, we can go home and know that we will, ultimately, help someone in the future because of our efforts today. Science is cool."

She's right. Science is cool and our booth, which focused on how to discover a new medicine, was a popular attraction. Visitors practiced pipetting techniques and performed a colorimetric experiment to simulate how scientists go about "screening" thousands of compounds in an effort to find one that could treat a disease. They visited the molecular modeling station where they were given 3D glasses to work through a computer simulation that showed 3D protein structures of disease targets, medicines interacting with the disease site, and the chemical structure of medicines. The field of molecular modeling (designing medicines) uses state-of-the-art computational tools, 3D structures of disease targets and medicines, and chemical intuition. Each scene in the software demonstrated the similarities in shape and properties between the disease target and medicines, teaching the basic scientific principles of "like likes Like," "opposites attract," and "complementary shapes fit together."

The opportunity to expose people of all ages--but especially kids--to our industry is exciting. What could be more motivating than watching their eyes light when "discovering" a new medicine, and hearing them ask "Can I do that again?!" 

Who knows what this next generation can discover?

For nearly twenty years, GSK has honored innovative nonprofit programs located in and around our US corporate campuses in Research Triangle Park, NC and Philadelphia, PA with GSK IMPACT Awards. Annually, the GSK IMPACT Awards honor up to 20 outstanding nonprofit programs with $40,000 each in recognition of their achievements in improving access to health. And I am pleased to share that the 2013 call for applications is now open!

Many nonprofit programs help people--especially underserved populations--live healthier lives and contribute to a healthier community. The scope of this year's awards has expanded. Now, eligible programs include ones that promote healthy lifestyles, advance educational outcomes, and address many important determinants of our health. The expanded focus aligns with our efforts to explore what it means, and what it takes, to be a healthy community.

Learn more, help spread the word, and apply here by Friday, May 31, 2013 at 4:00 PM EDT.

Hot off the presses! GSK just issued its 2012 Corporate Responsibility (CR) report. If you don't have time to devour all 75 pages, then allow me to quickly share my top five favorite achievements:

5) Pipeline

The most significant contribution GSK can make to improving health is through scientific innovation--researching and developing new treatments, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. To that end, our R&D made significant progress in 2012 with six new products now under regulatory review. Over the next three years, GSK has the potential to bring 15 new medicines and vaccines to patients. And we have doubled funding for our independent research into diseases of the developing world. (Read more on page 14.)

4) Leading the Industry in Access

I am particularly proud of GSK's commitment to ensuring patients around the world have access to our medicines. In 2012, GSK topped the Access to Medicines Index (ATMI) for the third time. This ranking by the Access to Medicines Foundation examines how much the top 20 pharmaceutical companies are doing to improve access to medicines in the developing world. GSK ranked highest overall and achieved the highest score in four of the seven categories--access management, research and development, capacity advancement, and philanthropy, and were in the top three in all categories. (Read more on page 18.)

3) Unprecedented Transparency in our Clinical Trials Data

GSK made several significant commitments in 2012 to improve transparency around our clinical trials data. Specifically, we committed to provide access to detailed, patient-level data from clinical trials of our approved medicines or medicines that are no longer in development. The data are anonomyized so we are safeguarding patient confidentiality. We believe this is a significant step towards helping advance scientific understanding and informing medical judgment. Already, nearly 11,000 visitors a month are accessing and leveraging the data. Also, GSK became the first pharmaceutical company to sign up to the AllTrials campaign for clinical trial transparency. (Read more on pages 33 and 41.)

2) Making Progress on our Commitments to our Planet

Environmental sustainability is a priority for GSK. We rely on precious natural resources to produce our medicines and products. And these resources are becoming scarcer and more expensive as global demand increases. Our stakeholders expect us to manage our environmental use and impacts responsibly. In 2012, GSK reduced water consumption in our own operations by 14% and cut total waste by 9%. Unfortunately, our total carbon footprint has increased by 7% from 2010, and this was driven by the carbon emissions from higher inhaler sales. In 2012, we launched a first-of-its kind respiratory inhaler recycling program in the UK, US, and Chile. (Read more starting on page 63.)

GSK also achieved global certification to the Carbon Trust Standard, which certifies that, across the company, we are making year-on-year overall reductions in emissions associated with operations and transport for the time period. We're the only multinational to have achieved this standard to date. (Read more on page 65.)

1)  Donated $330 Million in Products and Funds

GSK donated $330 million in products and funds in 2012 to advance the health and well-being of communities around the world. If you break that down, it's equal to more than $6 million a week.

·         Donated nearly $208 million worth of medicines (at cost)

·         Donated nearly $121 million in funds

GSK's donations are reinforced through our employee volunteer PULSE program. In 2012, PULSE supported 91 GSK employees from 22 countries as they contributed their time and talents in full-time, 3-6 month skill-based assignments at 51 nonprofit organizations throughout 26 countries. (Read more on page 54.)

I was pleased to learn that almost half of GSK's total giving helped uninsured or under-insured  Americans get the medicines they need through our U.S. through our Patient Assistance Programs (GSK supported more than 356,000 low-income patients in the U.S. in 2012). (Read more on page 20 and 27.) 

Imagine having a child with cancer, and learning their cancer has not responded to treatment. You're told that there is a novel treatment option, but you need to travel hundreds of miles because it is not available at your local hospital. Then imagine the financial burden that comes from weekly or monthly visits for that treatment. 

While the medical care is often covered by insurance, the hidden costs--airfare, gas, hotels, meals and other expenses--can make it nearly impossible for some families to get the treatment their child needs.  As a social worker at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Cancer Center, I meet with families in this predicament every day. Five years ago, there were limited resources dedicated to helping families in this way. But a partnership between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and GlaxoSmithKline Foundation has changed that.

On March 18, we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the GlaxoSmithKline Hope for Families Fund, a $2.5 million endowment that provides assistance to qualifying families for travel and living expenses they incur while enrolled in investigational and/or novel treatments at the Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The Fund helps eligible families who are struggling with financial hardship, many of whom would be unable to travel to CHOP without it. 

These are families who have been dealing with a cancer diagnosis for months or even years. These are parents who are no longer able to work or are working greatly reduced hours due to the care needs of their sick child. These are families with medical expenses and/or debts that have been building up over time. 

When we are able to tell families that we have this fund, it is a relief that I could never describe with just words. The GSK Hope for Families Fund allows parents the ability to focus on the care of their child and not on the financial expenses of getting to Philadelphia. The emotional burden that is lifted with this tremendous resource is a true gift for these families. It is a gift that provides families with support time and time again...some of whom are traveling to Children's Hospital from across the country, sometimes from across the world, every 6 weeks or even more frequently!

The fund has helped 94 families so far, and, because it is a permanent endowment, will help many more in the years to come.

We've been on a bit of a tour of the US over the last year. As part of a partnership with The Atlantic, we traveled to Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Denver gathering community leaders to talk about the health of their neighborhoods, towns, and regions--and just what makes for a healthy community. These conversations were designed to examine the barriers to good health and identify opportunities to build healthier communities.  

In addition, we worked with The Atlantic to conduct a survey of more than 1,000 people across the US to find out how they think their communities are faring. "The Atlantic-GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) National Community Health Check-Up," conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland this past January, found a strong majority of Americans place a premium on healthcare providers and environment as being primary drivers of their community's health.

Despite an optimistic view of health in their communities, significant portions of the US population are not convinced that they have sufficient access to key resources for good health, while 60 percent of Americans say online information is important to their health. Perhaps most surprisingly, 90 percent of Americans consider themselves to be healthy, despite the barrage of reports to the contrary.

Some interesting trends were identified:

·         Americans perceive themselves to be healthy--but don't necessarily see personal responsibility as the primary driver of health. A strong majority of Americans place a premium on healthcare providers and environment as being primary drivers of their community's health. Lower-income individuals, defined as those making less than $50,000 in household income, in particular (55 percent), think doctors and hospitals should be primarily responsible for ensuring good health in a community.

·         Low-income Americans lack access to community health resources. While Americans believe a variety of community factors are very important to their health, such as good air and water quality (87 percent), regular access to doctors and dentists (82 percent), healthy food choices (81 percent), and nearby hospitals and urgent care facilities (74 percent), the poll found significant unmet needs for the most underserved in this country with those who most value these community health resources having the least access to them.

·         Technology is an emerging source for health information. Americans want technology to become a bigger part of the healthcare system with 64 percent using online health resources and 94 percent of those saying the health/medical information they find online is important to their health. The younger population, in general, are far more prone to embrace and utilize health information technology; however, this group also tends to place greater emphasis on removing face-to-face interaction with healthcare professionals and self-diagnosing their conditions.

We continue to ask ourselves what we can do to be a better partner in the communities we serve to ensure Americans have the resources and opportunities they need to live healthier lives. We've learned a great deal already--and we're looking forward to continuing this conversation, and GSK's commitment, to our communities.

GSK recently donated an illustration by N.C. Wyeth to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The picture--one of a series that was long thought lost by the art world--hung in our former Philadelphia offices, barely a mile from the venerable institution that now proudly displays it.

The first painting by N.C. Wyeth to enter the Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection, The Trial of the Bow comes to the Museum accompanied by a delightful story of loss and rediscovery.

A renowned American illustrator, Newell Convers Wyeth thrilled generations of readers in the early twentieth century with his bold visualizations of beloved tales of fantasy and adventure. Wyeth was born on a farm in Needham, Massachusetts and spent most of his life on a sprawling homestead in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, 10 miles north of Wilmington, DE along the Brandywine Creek. Here he raised five children, most notably his son Andrew Wyeth, who would become a great painter of American life. The N.C. Wyeth house and studio is now a part of the Brandywine River Museum, which houses the largest collection of N.C. Wyeth's work in the world.

As a star student in the Wilmington school of renowned illustrator Howard Pyle, Wyeth absorbed Pyle's creed that dictated historical accuracy spiced with maximum dramatic effect, and applied it in his own highly successful illustrations for many popular magazines of the period, such as Harper's Monthly or Ladies' Home Journal, as well as his illustrated editions of literary classics such as Treasure Island (1911), The Last of the Mohicans (1919), Robinson Crusoe (1920), and many others. As was standard practice for that era's illustrators, Wyeth would frequently paint the images intended for reproduction in the books. This was also the case with The Trial of the Bow (1929), reproduced as an illustration in George Herbert Palmer's translation of The Odyssey of Homer (1929). This painting captures the critical moment when Ulysses, hiding in disguise among Penelope's suitors, finally reveals himself by shooting an arrow from his own rigid bow, which had failed to yield to anyone else: "Then Ulysses took the bow in his hand, and ...then he bent it, and strung it, and he twanged the string, and the tone of it was shrill and sweet as the cry of a swallow. After this he took an arrow from the quiver, and laid the notch upon the string, and drew the bow to the full, still sitting in his place. And the arrow went straight to the mark."

The Trial of the Bow is one of sixteen compositions made by Wyeth for the The Odyssey. The entire series was sold by the artist to a private collector in Katonah, NY in 1930, and later scattered. Most of the paintings from the series are considered to be missing today, and just five had known locations--until now.

Recently assessing its art collection as it prepared to move to new quarters, GSK made a surprising discovery: a painting that had been on display at the company's Philadelphia office since the 1980s was in fact one of their most valuable artworks. It was The Trial of the Bow. Having examined the picture, PMA curator Kathleen Foster determined that it was one of the lost Odyssey series canvases. Inscriptions left by various owners on the back of the work reveal further intriguing details. It appears that the painting did not stay in Katonah for long. By 1948, it had already exchanged hands at least twice, and was at one point even sold at a garage sale for just $35!

Rediscovered after more than eighty years missing, the painting has now joined the collection of the PMA through the generosity of GSK. The company is a steadfast corporate supporter of the Museum, providing multi-faceted support for our programs and operations for over thirty years. Some of the well-received special exhibitions supported by GSK in the recent past are Van Gogh Up Close (2011), Picasso and the Avant-Garde (2010), The Art of Nandalal Bose (2008); Renoir Landscapes (2007); and Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic (2004). The Museum relies on the support of corporate leaders like GSK to help sustain its operations, collection, and exhibitions program, which does so much to enrich the life of our community time and time again.

Anna Vallye is the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Do you remember the thrill you felt upon receiving your college acceptance letter?  This powerful 30-second spot can help you recall that emotion (watch video). There you go! Now you remember that intense feeling of joy as you saw the world opening up before you. I'm sure you agree that every young person deserves the chance to go to college. And earning a high school diploma is a necessary and critical step in the college process. But for too many students--especially students of color and low-income students--finishing high school is a nearly impossible feat.

There's a dropout crisis in America. It was brought to the national consciousness largely through the 2006 report by Civic Enterprises called The Silent Epidemic which was featured in a Time Magazine cover story called Dropout Nation. The report flagged that "Almost one third of all public high school students--and nearly one half of all blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans--fail to graduate from public high school with their class."

Since that defining moment, thousands of educators, policymakers, business leaders, young people and staff from community organizations have mobilized to turn this dropout crisis around. Hallmarks of this movement, now referred to as Grad Nation, include evidence-based reforms and interventions, common core standards, and better data (disaggregated adjusted cohort data). And just this week, the movement now has some promising results which were released during the Grad Nation Summit:

 "For the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020--if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years."

The high school graduation rate rose to just over 78 percent in 2010, which is remarkable and promising; but this still means that roughly one in four students in America dropout before finishing high school. And According to America's Promise, "that's one every 26 seconds or more than one million students a year." 

Watching the Academy Awards this week, and seeing the look of wonder and amazement in best actress winner Jennifer Lawrence's eyes, made me think about the million+ students each year who are slipping through America's cracks. Earning a high school diploma for them is like Jennifer Lawrence achieving an Oscar--overcoming incredible odds to attain this credential which immediately helps open up a brighter future.

GlaxoSmithKline has partnered with America's Promise--the convener of Grad Nation--for several years. We are proud to be a part of the solution for tackling our nation's dropout crisis. Indeed, the healthcare industry has a stake in building our next generation of researchers and healthcare leaders to continue to improve the health of our nation.  And while this incremental improvement in the graduation rate is heartening, we hope it will only strengthen our nation's collective resolve. Check out the new report here, and let me know what you think.

Wide shot of the "Conversation on Community Health" event with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on February 6, 2013 in Denver.

What do bike paths, zip codes, and farmers markets, have to do with your own health? Everything, according to several participants in GSK's "Conversation on Community Health" in Denver held earlier this month.

Several GSK colleagues, including Deirdre Connelly, President of North America Pharmaceuticals, participated in the third of three conversations held in major and diverse US communities (Philadelphia and St. Louis) as part of a national initiative with The Atlantic to explore what it takes to be a healthy community.

I was really impressed with the people of Denver. Throughout the conversation, what came through again and again is that Denver is a forward-thinking, systems-oriented community that has a deep and sincere level of engagement and commitment to making health a reality for all.

I'm sure some of you reading this blog and not intimately familiar with Denver might wonder why a city known for its lean, healthy, and outdoorsy population would be selected as a stop on this three-city community health listening tour. Well, allow me to share with you some concerning data: despite being one of the leanest states in the nation, Colorado has an adult obesity rate that has doubled over the past 15 years--and--a childhood obesity rate that is rising faster than all but one other state. The health of residents varies depending on where they reside. Denver residents are seeing an improvement in the overall rates of heart disease, cancer, and violence; but obesity, mental illness, substance abuse, and tobacco use are on the rise. Bottom line: the Denver community was hungry for and ready to engage in a conversation on community health.

Throughout the event, a theme emerged: there is an inextricable link between individual health and larger community factors (economic, social, and environmental factors). These social determinants of health identified throughout the conversation ranged from the role of poverty and homelessness on health to the availability of bike trail and strong outdoor recreational infrastructure to fostering health. Indeed, several Denver leaders made the case that the community in which one is born, grows, lives, works, and ages plays the most significant role in an individual's health and wellness.

The insights we gathered through our community conversations, coupled with the insights from the soon-to-be-released national survey and the recent National Advisory Council meeting, will help inform what sort of role GSK might have in helping foster healthier communities. Please take a moment to share what you think are the barriers and opportunities for building healthier communities. Your contribution could help the future strategic direction of GSK's community partnerships and engagement in the US.

In 2012, 91 GSK employees spent up to six months with 51 non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 26 countries in our PULSE program. These volunteers brought needed expertise to organizations working to address serious societal challenges in the health, education and the environment.

In this blog, PULSE volunteer Binita reflects on her experiences with Jhpiego in Ghana.

Since the launch of PULSE in 2009, nearly 300 GSK employees from 33 different countries have volunteered with 70 NGOs in 49 countries. PULSE was recently awarded the "Inspiring Practices" award by the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE).