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GSK recently took a big step forward in sharing some very valuable data with scientists around the world. We launched a website where researchers can request access to anonymised patient-level data that sit behind the results of our clinical trials.

These data represent a tremendous contribution by patients to clinical trials in the hopes of advancing healthcare and medicine. It also represents years of scientific research and the collective wisdom of employees around the world who gathered, organized and analyzed the data.

What will this mean for patients? It means scientists have a new place to look for trends to pursue in their own research. We are optimistic there will be many opportunities to accelerate research and to better focus that research so that all of us in the healthcare system can improve patient care. This data will also allow external scientists to further validate our trial results.

This system is new and we expect that our approach will evolve over time. We're committed to take learnings from the experiences of researchers using the system to improve it. The system provides access to GSK's data and we hope to see the development of a broader system where anonymised patient level data from clinical studies conducted by industry and academia are made available to further scientific research, increase understanding of new and current medicines and ultimately improve patient care.

This made me proud as a physician-researcher. GSK is the first pharmaceutical company to take this step. We already post summary protocols about each clinical trial that we start. We also provide summary results of all clinical trials--whether positive or negative--on a website accessible to all. We also seek publication of the results of all our clinical trials in peer-reviewed scientific journals. And we were the first pharmaceutical company to sign up to the AllTrials campaign for clinical data transparency by committing in February 2013 to make our clinical study reports (CSRs) publicly available.

I hope you'll take a look at this new website and, if you are a researcher, I hope you're as excited about this new opportunity as I am.

GSK received some exciting news yesterday--three of our employees were named to the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) newly-created Advisory Boards. As the person on point for coordinating GSK's efforts on comparative effectiveness research, I was thrilled when the email announcing their appointments popped up in my inbox. This news means that my capable colleagues will have the opportunity to inform PCORI's efforts to determine the evidence patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals in the US need to make better-informed healthcare decisions. 

Comparative effectiveness research compares the benefits and risks of different ways to prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor a medical condition or to improve the delivery of care. This type of research has received a significant boost under the Affordable Care Act, which established PCORI as an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. PCORI is projected to fund roughly $300 million annually in comparative effectiveness research. And its importance is expected to grow over time.

PCORI received 1,295 applications for the 84 available spots. Of those, four were granted to pharmaceutical industry representatives--including two GSK employees David, a Health Outcomes Liaison, National Accounts, has been appointed to the panel for "Improving Health Care Systems;" and Priti, a Senior Director in US Health Outcomes, who was appointed to the panel for "Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options." Jill, a Senior Director of Clinical Effectiveness, was selected as an alternate.

The advisory panels are not responsible for setting PCORI's policies, but are considered critical to the organization's ongoing efforts.

The nomination of three GSK employees is a testament to their expertise, as well as our company's commitment to helping healthcare professionals and payers determine which treatment options are most effective for which patients under what circumstances. 

We also have to acknowledge that we're in good company!  On behalf of all of us at GSK, congratulations to all of those appointed to the PCORI Advisory Panels. Together we're making a meaningful difference in our nation's health.

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.

Sometimes our New Year's resolutions are gone before the month of January ends. But others can genuinely spur us to thoughtful action and long-term change.

An important set of resolutions dedicated to freeing millions of people from disability and disease were made a year ago by GlaxoSmithKline and 12 other global pharmaceutical companies along with the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups.

Together we committed to accelerate the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and to control or eliminate 10 of 17 NTDs by 2020.  This commitment is known as the London Declaration against NTDs.

NTDs affect more than 1 billion people around the world, causing illness, disability and death. They are found in the world's poorest countries, where there is limited access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation and good nutrition.

Some treatments exist. Five NTDs can be tackled by a single annual treatment (e.g. lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma), and for many people, the beneficial impact of a treatment will be immediate. But for other NTDs, research is urgently needed to develop new and better treatments.

The progress our coalition reports today includes that:

·         We fully met requests for 1.12 billion treatments for NTDs.

·         29 countries began receiving drugs to treat or prevent soil-transmitted helminthes, resulting in an almost six-fold increase in treatments.

·         There was increased funding and collaboration to improve outcomes.

·         Two NTD diagnostic tests received regulatory approval.

Since 1998, GSK has partnered with WHO, the Gates Foundation, the Carter Center and others to rid the world of LF. More commonly known as elephantiasis, LF is one of the world's leading causes of permanent disability and disfigurement. The disease affects 120 million and threatens a further 1.3 billion people in 73 countries.

The same medicine, albendazole, treats soil-transmitted helminths (STH or intestinal worms). STH infection can stunt growth and cause anaemia and malnutrition. Often a child's ability to learn and their performance at school are affected.  Between these two programmes, GSK has delivered, to date, more than 3 billion doses of albendazole to the world's neediest people.

GSK has committed to provide up to 1 billion tablets of albendazole each year to the WHO - 600 million tablets to tackle LF and an additional 400 million tablets to treat school-age children at risk of intestinal worms.

We are also working to support with research into new and better treatments for NTDs. Dedicated scientists at our research center at Tres Cantos, Spain are studying treatments for Chagas, dengue fever, and leishmaniasis.

Partnership is essential to achieving these goals, and GSK is applying our 'open innovation' approach to these areas. We have opened up our intellectual property and know-how to others to help encourage more research into NTDs. We have opened access to our Tres Cantos laboratory for independent researchers to use our facilities to advance their own study of these diseases. And we have established a not-for-profit organization to support these projects using $8.047 million (£5 million) in funding from GSK.

There is still a long way to go in this battle but we continue to make progress and importantly, together with our partners, have agreed a way to measure our outputs and outcomes that will encourage even more results.

As a global healthcare company with a long history and presence in the developing world, we are determined to play our part in helping to improve healthcare and quality of life for people, no matter where they live.

By combining our effort with others as in the London Declaration, we have the power to consign to history many preventable diseases that kill, disfigure and disable millions of people in the world's poorest countries every year. That's a resolution we renew this year along with a promise to report on our progress.

Dan Troy, our general counsel, is a firm believer that the billable hour promotes inefficiency, and I agree.

When Dan joined GSK in 2008, he asked me to transition our outside legal spend from billable hours to alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), such as fixed and capped fees. At that time, GSK spent less than 3% through AFAs. Transforming our billing was a big task, and I wasn't sure we could make it work for complex litigations and transactions across the globe. But my team and I were willing to give it a try--and we've been quite successful.

Today, more than 65% of our external legal spend is through AFAs. We've significantly reduced costs while maintaining excellent legal representation for the company.

Our AFAs sometimes include an electronic reverse auction program, suggested by our Procurement colleagues. They had been successfully using online sourcing for sophisticated services in other areas of the company, so we decided to give it a try. It worked, and so far, that program has included more than 85 firms.

There are times when the lowest bid doesn't win, because another firm may have  expertise better suited for a particular matter. We want to have long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with law firms, so it's important to set the right assumptions and to be flexible when things change.

This process has helped GSK save many millions of dollars, which means more funds available to devote to our core mission of helping patients do more, feel better, and live longer.

This week, the Financial Times honored GSK Legal with the 2012 Innovative Lawyer award, recognizing us as a "Standout" law department for "Dramatically reducing external legal spend through AFAs and the development and implementation of an electronic reverse auction system."  This award is a real testament to the successes we've had in transforming our outside legal billing.  It's the third time this year that GSK Legal has been honored with an award for our work in this area. This summer, we were named an American Corporate Counsel (ACC) Value Champion for making a difference through creativity and value-based legal management skills. And in September, Inside Counsel magazine named GSK Legal to their IC10 list of the 10 most innovative law departments based, in part, on our AFAs and reverse auction initiatives.

I'm now a firm believer that AFAs can work for almost any legal matter--in any industry. It's been eye opening and rewarding to lead this work at GSK.

Polls and rankings seem to be everywhere in the news. One published today--the 2012 Access to Medicine (ATM) Index--is worth a closer look.

It is cause for celebration here at GSK because we were ranked highest in the index, which evaluates pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to improve access to medicine in low-income and lower middle income countries. The ATM Index is a major initiative of the Access to Medicine Foundation, an international not-for-profit organisation.

It is cause for a much wider celebration because the foundation is seeing companies "really raising the bar" and stepping up efforts to get medicines to those who need them, regardless of where they live.

The Foundation found that:

• 17 of 20 companies performed better in 2012 than at the time of the last index in 2010. This happened at a time when the Foundation also raised its expectations.
• Companies are developing more medicines for more diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poor
• More companies are using tiered pricing to lower prices for certain countries or specific populations.

Improving access to medicine is core to GSK's overall mission and strategy. Over the last five years we have made changes to our business model, expanding to more countries and making our medicines and vaccines more available and affordable.

Here in the US, we provide some of the most generous patient assistance programs in the industry. In 2011, more than 478,000 patients here received GSK medicines and vaccines worth $115 million.

We will read closely the report's recommendations and invite you to do the same. You can find the full report at www.atmindex.org

Read more about what GSK does to increase access to medicine.

This week, GSK was excited to see the launch of the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) Roundtable, "The Quality Enterprise: What is it? Where is it going? And how will it be affected by healthcare reform." This virtual roundtable, which we sponsored, features a range of experts discussing the US healthcare system, and the opportunities to come together to provide better, more efficient healthcare.

At this point, I think all of us in the US realize that our healthcare system is going through a period of dramatic change. In state capitols and on Capitol Hill, policy makers continue to face the difficult task of providing access to care that delivers on both quality and cost-effectiveness. In hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices, payers and providers are responding to the demand for quality and value, and determining how these can be measured and aligned to payments in the system. The pharmaceutical industry is challenged to demonstrate the value its products provide to patients. 

The purpose of this project was to provide an introduction on what we call the "quality enterprise"--all of the various elements that need to be considered when thinking about what makes up a quality healthcare experience. The program also looked at how quality is factored into how healthcare is paid for, the need for standard quality measures, rather than fragmentation, and real-life experiences from experts across the healthcare system. 

To be successful in shifting the way we think about our health, the healthcare industry and the government must come together to find consensus for how to measure--and report--if patients are receiving quality care.

The move towards measuring healthcare quality can be overwhelming. While we all want what is best for patients, this new world will involve some tough decisions, a willingness to collaborate, significant investments, and a steep learning curve for all of us. 

Our hope is that tools like the AJMC roundtable will provoke some insightful discussions about what quality means to many different organizations, and how it can be implemented.