Business Health
GSK among top five brands in UK
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been ranked fifth among the top 500 brands
in the United Kingdom by the Superbrands Organisation, following the
completion of the organisation’s annual survey.
Managing Director,
Stuart Chapman |
Based on the views of 1,500 professionals and a council of senior
business leaders in the UK, the ranking recognises brands that have
established the finest reputations in their fields and make the most
impact on the UK business sector.
Other brands in the UK top 5 with GSK are Google, Microsoft, BP and
BBC. In September 2007, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals in Sri Lanka was
rated the country’s first ‘Pharmaceutical Business Superbrand’, by the
Superbrands Organisation, following an evaluation by a Business
Superbrand Council comprising 22 eminent individuals.
Commenting on the latest Superbrand ranking in the UK, GSK
Pharmaceuticals’ Managing Director in Sri Lanka Stuart Chapman said:
“The fact that GSK is the only pharmaceuticals brand in the Superbrands
top five reiterates the company’s position as a benchmark in its sector.
A Superbrand rating identifies brands with significant strategic focus
and commitment to achieve extraordinary results.”
GSK is also the only pharmaceutical company to tackle the three
“priority” diseases identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO):
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Chapman said GlaxoSmithKline has
been doing business in Sri Lanka for over 50 years and set up one of Sri
Lanka’s first pharmaceuticals manufacturing plants in the late 1950s.
Not enough pharmacists in the pharmaceutical trade
Hathoon Sheriffdeen
CEO, Harcourt’s Group of Companies, Ahamed Rheyas. Picture by
Sumanachandra Ariyawansa |
We do not have enough pharmacists in the pharmaceutical trade. The
government and the private members in the industry should consider on
the development of the industry by encouraging the younger generation to
professionalise in the pharmaceutical profession, CEO, Harcourt’s Group
of Companies, Ahamed Rheyas said on an interview.
Pharmacists are very scarce in the labour market. We have only a few
private tutories to study pharmacist courses in Sri Lanka. Many students
sit for the medical council examination to qualify as pharmacists by
reading the tutorials.
This practice gives them only the theoretical knowledge, they possess
no pre-employment practical knowledge at the time they qualify to enter
the labour market in Sri Lanka.
This reduces the quality and professionalism of the profession in the
industry, he said.
The industry is very sophisticated, since the supply of the drugs in
the market is more than the demand. Also, the industry is very
competitive. Vendors of the pharmaceutical industry are qualified and
aware of the medical market, Rheyas said.
He said the growth of the industry is mostly directed by
nutriceuticles now. Consumption of nutriceuticles has increased and
doctors also tend to prescribe neutriceuticles a lot. Locals tend to
consume these vitamins and preventive medicines a lot.
“The imports of herbal medicine have to face a CESS of 25 per cent.
This impacts the herbal medicine imports highly. Nutriceuticles too,
face various kinds of taxes, which should be moderated by considering
the nutrition value of the people in the country” Rheyas said. |