GSK Flashcards
What is GSK?
GlaxoSmithKline is a pharmaceutical transnational company headquartered in the UK, with a turnover of £23 billion (2013).
What is its global structure and operations?
84 manufacturing sites in 36 countries - large research and development centres in the UK, USA, Spain, Belgium, and China
Pharmaceuticals count for 2/3 of GSK’s turnover - rest is consumer health products and vaccines
Vaccines business one of largest in world - 800 million doses distributed in 2014 - 80% to countries in the developing world
Many drugs on WHO’s list of essential medications (e.g. zidovudine for HIV infection)
What are GSKs Research and Development and Scientific breakthroughs?
employs 13,000 people in R&D and spends more than £3 billion a year researching new medicines
R&D usually undertaken in partnership with other companies, universities and research charities
GSK is one of few companies currently researching treatments for WHO’s 3 priority diseases: HIV, malaria and TB
Developing and testing new drugs is a long and costly process with a high failure rate - in part explains why drugs are so expensive
What are 3 drugs patented by GSK?
Tivicay (HIV/AIDS - medicine)
Twinrix (Hep A and B vaccine)
Sensodyne (dental health - consumer product)
What is GSKs ethical policy towards the developing world?
Small return (5%) on each product sold
Providing 3 HIV/AIDS drugs to LIDCs at significant discount
Granting licences for manufacture of cheap generic versions of its patented drugs
Capping price of patented drugs to developing countries to 25% of the UK price
Investing 20% of its profits from sales in each developing countries to that country’s infrastructure
In 2016 GSK stopped filing patents in 50 LIDCs
