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Contribution to global health

Corporate Responsibility Report 2008

Contribution to global health

How we respond to society’s healthcare needs is the most important responsibility issue for GSK. It is also central to our commercial success.

Ill health and disease continue to place a huge burden on society: from the AIDS epidemic in Africa and Asia to the health needs of an ageing population in the developed world and the huge global growth in chronic diseases such as diabetes. Emerging diseases such as pandemic flu pose potentially serious threats. Ill health is also expensive: it can increase healthcare costs and reduce economic productivity.

Our business makes a significant contribution to society by bringing products to market that address the medical needs of patients around the world. We make a contribution in four key areas:

Preventing disease: we are one of the world’s largest producers of vaccines for diseases prevalent in developed and developing countries. We also prevent disease through our community investment, disease awareness work and our over-the counter products
Treating ill health: many of our products treat diseases that place a high burden on society
Investing in R&D: our pipeline includes new medicines and vaccines that are needed in developing and developed countries
Contributing to scientific understanding: we participate in partnerships that advance scientific knowledge and lay the ground for future medical advances

We believe that while our business makes a significant contribution to society, there is more we can do. We are looking at ways to accelerate research into neglected diseases by sharing research resources and findings with other organisations and expanding our partnerships with governments, NGOs and other pharmaceutical companies. We also want to partner with others to support delivery of healthcare services as well as medicines.

Our products are only beneficial if they are accessible and affordable to healthcare payers and patients. Read about our efforts to increase access to our key products in developing and developed countries and how we support healthcare programmes through community investment.