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About us

About GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

  • GSK is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, developing and supplying medicines to improve patients' quality of life.
  • GSK employs around 96,500 people in over 100 countries.
  • We make prescription medicines, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, oral care and nutritional healthcare products.
  • We produce medicines that treat six major disease areas - asthma, virus control, infections, mental health, diabetes and digestive conditions. In addition, we are a leader in the important area of vaccines and are developing new treatments for cancer.
  • We are proud of our strong, open relationship with the NHS and our British heritage.
  • We have a challenging and inspiring mission: to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. This mission gives us the purpose to develop innovative medicines and products that help millions of people around the world.
  • In 2010, our global community investment was £222 million, an increase of 24% as compared with £163 million in 2009. GSK is one of the most generous contributors of the FTSE-100, supporting health and education programmes in almost 100 countries.

GlaxoSmithKline in the UK

Overview

  • GlaxoSmithKline is the largest pharmaceutical company by value in the UK, is British-owned and headquartered in the UK.
  • We employ more than 14,700 people across the United Kingdom.
  • We spent £1.8 billion on research and development (R&D) in the UK in 2010 - this equates to over 40% of our global R&D spend.
  • GSK is the largest private sector funder of R&D in the UK (see also the R&D tab above).

Products

GSK is a leading supplier of medicines and vaccines to the NHS, providing treatments for conditions such as asthma, COPD, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, cancer and infections (antibiotics), as well as a wide range of vaccines to prevent childhood, adolescent, adult and travel related illnesses, including influenza.

In 2010, we launched Arzerra for refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), Revolade for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), Combodart for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate), Prolia for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis and Votrient for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. In 2011, we launched Trobalt for partial-onset epilepsy.

UK footprint

GSK has 19 sites in the UK:

Headquarters / Commercial

  • Brentford (Global HQ)
  • North Mymms
  • Stockley Park (UK HQ)

R&D

  • Cambridge (Addenbrookes)
  • Hammersmith (GSK presence to cease by end 2011)
  • Harlow
  • Stevenage
  • Stockley Park
  • Ware
  • Weybridge

Manufacturing

  • Barnard Castle
  • Coleford
  • Irvine
  • Maidenhead
  • Montrose
  • Slough
  • Ulverston
  • Ware
  • Worthing

In 2010, GSK made investments in capital in the UK worth a total of over £316 million out of a global figure of £1.057 billion.

Research and development (R&D) in the UK

  • Over 13,000 people work in R&D at GSK across pharma and consumer healthcare; of these 3,700 are based in the UK.
  • In 2010 GSK spent £4.4 billion on R&D, approximately £1.8 billion of which was spent in the UK. GSK is the largest private sector funder of R&D in the UK.
  • GSK is also the top private funder of the academic research base in the UK and is involved in more academic collaborations than any other company.
  • In 2009, we spent £11 million in UK universities, working with over 50 academic institutions and supporting over 260 student PhD studentships.
  • GSK is now entering many consortiums to co-develop advances in technology and train the next generation of scientists.
  • In addition, GSK has multiple partnerships with the UK Research Councils in UK Universities.

Manufacturing in the UK

  • UK exported £2.3 billion of pharmaceutical products in 2010.
  • Around 30,000 people are employed in manufacturing roles at GSK, with around 5,700 being based in the UK.
  • Worldwide, GSK has 77 manufacturing sites in 32 countries. Each year they manufacture more than 4 billion packs of medicines which are sold in more than 150 countries; 800 million cans, bottles and cartons of Lucozade; 1 billion tubes of toothpaste; and 1 billion servings of Horlicks, Lucozade and Ribena.
  • GSK also has 13 vaccine manufacturing sites, positioned around the globe.
  • In 2010, GSK Bio distributed 1.4 billion doses of vaccines, of which just over one billion went to the developing world.