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Developed world

Access to medicines is not just an issue for the developing world. Even in developed countries some patients cannot afford the medicines they need. This is a particular problem in the US where many people do not have health insurance. GSK has developed Patient Assistance Programs and discount cards in the US to help patients without insurance.

We are also introducing discount cards in several middle-income countries to enable qualifying patients to obtain prescription medicines at a discount price.

Programmes in the US
Patient Assistance Programs provide prescription medicines to low-income, uninsured patients free or at minimal cost. GSK operates two Patient Assistance Programs. Commitment to Access covers cancer treatments; Bridges to Access covers other medicines for outpatients. Patients are registered through one phone call from a patient advocate and receive medicine at their local pharmacy or by mail order. In 2004, 475,000 patients received GSK medicines worth $372.5 million through these programs (based on the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of these medicines).

GSK was the first pharmaceutical company in the US to offer a card providing savings on medicines to low-income senior citizens and disabled people. Known as the Orange card this enables these people to buy GSK outpatient prescription medicines at a discount. Introduced in 2001, the Orange card provides savings of up to 40%. In 2004, 37,319 patients received 73,740 prescriptions. This resulted in WAC savings of $2.9 million for patients.

In 2002, GSK and six other pharmaceutical companies established the Together Rx card which provides discounts on over 155 prescription medicines for low-income senior citizens who are eligible for Medicare. In 2004, over 190,000 patients received 683,364 GSK medicines through this programme, saving $12.3 million (based on WAC).

In January 2005, GSK and nine other pharmaceutical companies created a new card to improve access to medicines for other uninsured Americans, not just seniors. The Together Rx Access card provides savings of 25-40% on more than 275 medicines. Approximately 36 million people, around 80% of uninsured people in the US, are eligible to enrol.

We also offer discounts on our prescription medicines through cards launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a US government agency, in 2004.

Orange cards in middle income countries
During 2004 we introduced Orange cards providing discounts on certain GSK prescription medicines for eligible patients in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Ukraine. The nature of the discounts varies between countries, depending on the needs of the patient and the way in which the healthcare system operates.

Our Orange card in the Ukraine gives all asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who are under 25 or over 50, an average discount of 19% on GSK’s Seretide asthma medicine. Asthma patients of any age who suffer disabilities or who are affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are also eligible. Eligibility is assessed by the patient’s doctor and patients can receive the medicine at participating pharmacies. A hotline number has been set up to help patients find their nearest pharmacy, and so far 1,100 patients are enrolled.

In Lithuania, patients must pay towards the costs of their medicines. This is known as patient co-payment. Our Orange card gives senior citizens an average discount of 40% on the patient co-payment on all GSK prescription medicines. By February 2005 more than 3,500 patients had applied for an Orange Card and 107 pharmacies had registered to participate. (see see Improving access to medicine in Lithuania).

A GSK Orange card was also introduced in Bulgaria in May 2004 for low-income patients with chronic diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Card holders receive an average 35% discount on four GSK prescription medicines, and over 16,000 patients have registered so far.

Summary of GSK discount programmes

Country	GSK Programme	Number of patients	Value of benefit to patients
US	Patient Assistance Programmes - Free or minimal cost medicines for low-income, uninsured patients.	475,000 received prescriptions	$372.5 million
US	Orange card - Discounts for low-income senior citizens and disabled people.	37,000 received prescriptions	$2.9 million
US	Together Rx - Discounts for low-income senior citizens. Joint industry programme.	190,000 received prescriptions	$12.3 million
US	Together Rx access - Discounts for all low-income uninsured patients. Joint industry programme.	N/A	Launched in 2004
Bulgaria	Orange card - Discounts for low-income patients with chronic diseases.	16,000 enrolled	Launched in 2004
Lithuania	Orange card - Discounts for senior citizens.	3,500 enrolled	Launched in 2004
Ukraine	Orange card - Discounts on asthma medicine for patients under 25 or over 50.	1,100 enrolled	Launched in 2004

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