-
Creates
world’s first R&D Open Lab to increase understanding of non-communicable
diseases and support development of new medicines for Africa
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Significantly
increases African manufacturing presence to build capacity and enhance
regional self sufficiency
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Establishes 25 academic Chairs at African
universities to
support development of local skills and capabilities in science, engineering,
public health and other related areas
-
Commits to
train an additional 10,000 community healthworkers across sub-Saharan Africa
GSK yesterday announced a series of new investments in sub-Saharan Africa designed to address
pressing health needs and contribute to long-term business growth. Speaking at the 5th EU-Africa
Business Forum in Brussels, GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty set out the company’s intent to partner with governments of
African countries to help stimulate more research into chronic diseases, increase
capacity by localising medicines supply and strengthen healthcare
infrastructure.
This
will see GSK make targeted investments of up to £130 million in Africa over the
next five years, creating at least 500 jobs and contributing to the development
of home-grown capabilities and skills in Africa. This builds on GSK’s existing business
base in sub-Saharan Africa, which currently employs around 1,500 people in over
40 countries, including at three existing local manufacturing sites in Kenya,
Nigeria and South Africa.
Speaking at the
meeting, Andrew Witty said: “Today, we are setting out further steps to tackle
Africa’s dual health burden of infectious and emerging non-communicable
diseases and help build crucial capacity to underpin the development of the healthcare
sector in the region. We have a unique
opportunity to deliver meaningful social and economic value to all of the
communities we work in – using our scientific expertise and our global reach to
develop innovative medicines and deliver them to people who need them around
the world.
“With
global attention focused on how we support development beyond 2015, now is the
moment for business to play a more active role in contributing to a more
prosperous future in Africa, investing in infrastructure, building skills and
capability to unlock human potential and create jobs. Our long-term goal is to equip
Africa to discover, develop and produce the medicines required for Africa.”
Supporting the
development of new medicines for Africa
GSK will invest £25 million to create the
world’s first R&D Open Lab for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa. This
builds on the success of GSK’s Open Lab in Tres Cantos, Spain which gives independent
researchers access to GSK facilities, resources and knowledge to help them
advance their own research projects into diseases of the developing world such
as malaria, tuberculosis and leishmaniasis.
The
new R&D Open Lab for NCDs
in Africa will see GSK
scientists collaborate with research and scientific centres across Africa from its
hub at GSK’s Stevenage R&D facility in the UK to conduct high quality epidemiological, genetic
and interventional research to increase understanding of NCDs in Africa. An
independent governing board of leading scientists and clinicians will oversee
the implementation of NCD research projects within a dynamic and networked open
innovation environment.
The
open lab aims to improve understanding of NCD variations seen in the Africa setting,
which could include for example the apparent higher prevalence of
treatment-resistant hypertension and aggressive breast cancers in younger
women. It is hoped that these insights will inform prevention and treatment
strategies and will enable researchers across academia and industry to discover
and develop new medicines to address the specific needs of African patients.
The open lab will
directly support the training and education of African scientific researchers
who will participate in a portfolio of projects, building local expertise,
creating a new generation of African NCD experts while instilling a deep vein
of ‘African thinking’ within GSK’s own R&D organisation.
Forming innovative partnerships
to transform medicines supply in Africa
Over
the next five years, GSK will look to partner with a number of African
countries to develop domestic manufacturing capacity and capability. This will
see GSK invest up to £100m to expand its existing manufacturing capability in
Nigeria and Kenya and build up to five new factories in Africa. The company is
currently reviewing possible locations in countries including Rwanda, Ghana and
Ethiopia and the selected sites will be announced in due course and subject to
Government agreement.
The
new facilities will be built to globally recognised good manufacturing practice
(GMP) standards and will make locally relevant products such as antibiotics and
respiratory and HIV medicines (on behalf of ViiV Healthcare). The initial focus
will be on secondary manufacture with the aim to transfer the technology,
skills and knowledge needed to enable the local manufacture of more complex
products over time. The factories will create a network of localised industry
and local employment for a highly skilled workforce drawn from surrounding
communities.
To support the scale-up of domestic
manufacturing and supply, GSK will establish
up to 25 academic Chairs at local African universities in related areas such as
pharmaceutical sciences, public health, engineering and logistics. These
roles will facilitate the development of new courses as well as internships and
student exchanges, and will be pivotal to ensuring manufacturing capability is
locked into the continent to help attract further manufacturing investment.
GSK
is also taking steps to improve and simplify its supply chain with the creation
of regional supply hubs that will help to reduce stock shortages and local
supply partnerships to enable more GSK products and medicines to reach
under-served rural communities in Africa. These steps will help reduce Africa’s
reliance on imported medicines, improving the security of supply and reducing
production costs and transportation which in time should help contribute to
lower prices.
Creating a tailored
portfolio of medicines to address Africa-specific health needs
GSK
will also optimise its portfolio of medicines for NCDs by working in
collaboration with its local partner, Aspen, and with regulators to increase
the registration of medicines and vaccines in its existing portfolio, such as its
Amoxil antibiotic and its Ventolin respiratory medicine, where not already
available.
At
the same time, the company continues to work to develop new products designed
to meet the specific needs of Africa, for example through its ongoing work with
partners to develop the world’s first vaccine against malaria and to create new
nutritional products fortified with micro-nutrients to tackle childhood malnourishment.
Playing a part in strengthening healthcare systems
GSK
will also increase its support for community health worker training, in
recognition of the vital role they play in delivering basic healthcare to many
communities. As part of its initiative to reinvest 20% of any profits generated
in LDCs back into strengthening healthcare infrastructure in those countries,
GSK is already supporting the training of 15,000 healthcare workers with its
NGO partners by the end of 2014.
GSK’s
commitment to healthcare worker training will now be expanded to include low-
and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the next three years,
GSK will partner with charities to help train and upskill 10,000 community
healthcare workers across Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria under the umbrella of the
One Million Community Health Worker campaign, a UN-led initiative directed by
Professor Jeffrey Sachs. The investment will be targeted at supporting the most
remote and marginalised communities to help address healthcare inequalities
that exist even in fast-growing countries.
These
changes build on steps taken by GSK over the past six years to modernise its
business model and help improve access to medicines in developing countries.
This has seen the company cap the prices of its patented medicines at no more
than 25% of developed world prices and reinvest 20% of any profit made back
into training healthcare workers in the world’s poorest countries and pursue
open innovation models for diseases of the developing world.
Notes
to editors
·
GSK has a long history in the developing
world. Its vaccines are included in immunisation campaigns in 170 countries
worldwide and of the 862 million vaccine doses delivered in 2013, more than 80%
were shipped for use in developing countries.
·
In 2013, GSK donated its four billionth
tablet of albendazole to treat intestinal worms and lymphatic filariasis – part
of the company’s long-term commitment to tackle neglected tropical diseases
which affect people in the world’s poorest countries.
·
GSK has formed a ground-breaking five-year
partnership with Save the Children, to help save the lives of one million
children living in the poorest countries in Africa. The partnership combines
the resources and capabilities of two organisations to help bring medicines and
vaccines to some of the world’s poorest children, train thousands of healthcare
workers, and seek to alleviate child malnutrition.
GSK – one
of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies –
is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do
more, feel better and live longer. For
further information please visit www.gsk.com.
