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GSK ranked no. one on first ‘Access to Medicine’ index

The first Access to Medicine (ATM) Index developed by the Access to Medicine Foundation, an independent international non-profit organisation, has ranked GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as the current industry leader when it comes to improving access to drugs and vaccines in low income countries.

Three years in the making, the Index unveiled in the Netherlands on June 16, evaluates the top 20 companies’ contribution to improving access to medicines against criteria in eight categories.

It measures and rates efforts by individual drug companies to increase the number of people that have access to effective and affordable medicine, offering investors and other stakeholders a new and powerful tool with which to take pharmaceutical companies’ social responsibility record into account.

Commenting on the Index, GSK Pharmaceutical’s Managing Director in Sri Lanka Stuart Chapman said: “Improving access to medicines has been a core element in GSK’s business strategy.

We are continuously working on enabling more and more people the world over to have greater access to our medicines and thereby realise our goal of helping them to do more, feel better and live longer. We believe that companies that adapt their business practices to address such challenges will be the leaders of the future.”

“GSK is pleased that the multi-faceted approach it takes to improving access to medicines in the developing world has been acknowledged in the ATM Index,” he said.

“This is testament to the many GSK employees who are engaged in executing GSK’s commitment to playing a full part in addressing the healthcare challenges of the developing world by taking an innovative, responsible and, above all, sustainable approach.”

“GSK is making a vital contribution to healthcare in developing countries through action in four areas: preferential pricing of our antiretrovirals, anti-malarials and vaccines; investing in research and development (R&D) that targets diseases particularly affecting the developing world; community investment activities and partnerships that foster effective healthcare; and, innovative partnerships and solutions.”

“We will review the ATM Index report with interest as part of our commitment towards applying lessons learned and looking for opportunities to do more,” Chapman added. “Rather than looking at the pharmaceutical industry as a black box, the Access to Medicine Index finds good practices within individual companies and holds them up as shining examples to others,” said Wim Leereveld, the founder of the index.

Ceylinco Life ‘Waidya Hamuwa’

Ceylinco Life’s CSR project reached 8000 people in first five months of 2008.

More than 8000 people living in towns and villages across Sri Lanka have been provided an opportunity to be checked by doctors in the first five months of 2008 by Ceylinco Life.

Releasing details of its corporate social responsibility project ‘Waidya Hamuwa’ the company said it had conducted free medical camps in 30 locations so far this year, taking medical expertise to needy people from all walks of life.

These medical camps are conducted by teams of travelling doctors and offer consultations with General Practitioners, checks by eye specialists, opticians and dentists as well as free ECGs, blood pressure and blood sugar tests, the company said. The checks cover the general condition of the person examined and include oral and dental condition, vision, hearing, the cardio vascular system, respiratory tract, abdomen, skin, joints and central nervous system.

All participants undergo a structured examination at these camps and are provided with a medical report containing the doctor’s findings and recommendations.

This year’s programme has already covered the length and breadth of the country, with medical camps in towns such as Trincomalee in the Eastern Province, Akuressa, Beliatta, Beddegama and Deniyaya in the Deep South, Anuradhapura and Hingurakgoda in the North Central Province, Puttalam in the North Western Province and Teldeniya and Rikillagaskada in the hill country.

Among the areas where more such medical camps are planned to be held in the months ahead are Kahatagasdigiliya, Deniyaya, Ingiriya, Ambalangoda, Wattegama and Gampola.

“There could be no better cause for a CSR initiative than the health of the nation,” said Ceylinco Life Chief Executive Director R. Renganathan. “As the country’s leading life insurer, Ceylinco Life is uniquely positioned to conduct a programme of this scope and has the support of more than 150 branches in all districts for effective execution.”

“We have on occasion been moved and shocked in equal measure to learn that the Ceylinco Life Waidya Hamuwa has been the first opportunity that some people in remote areas have had to consult a doctor practising western medicine,” he disclosed.

Now in its sixth year, Ceylinco Life’s Waidya Hamuwa programme is estimated to have taken free medical expertise to more than 25, 000 people in all parts of the country including the Jaffna peninsula, making it one of the widest-reaching CSR initiatives in Sri Lanka, Renganathan added.

LOLC extends services to Panadura

Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC (LOLC) opened a new LOLC branch at the LIOC fuel station at Panadura recently. Under the agreement entered into with Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC), LOLC has opened many branches Island wide extending their reach to remote areas around the country including the Eastern Province.

LOLC a leading total financial solutions provider in Sri Lanka has been playing a dynamic role in the development of the SME, agro and rural sectors of the country. With an array of products ranging from investments, insurance, agro and micro Finance, fleet management, auto finance, factoring, Islamic finance products and pawning on offer, the company has a very strong customer base in Sri Lanka.

Customers in the area of Panadura and the suburbs will be able to obtain many services more efficiently from the LOLC Service Centre at the LIOC fuel Station in Panadura. Being a pioneering town in the Western province with many industries and commercial set ups, Panadura will immensely benefit from the entrance of LOLC into the region.

Deutsche sees generic firms as prey for Big Pharma

More generic drugmakers are likely to become prey for large branded drugmakers, which are seeking to grow faster in emerging markets, analysts at Deutsche Bank said on Thursday.

Many experts believe Daiichi Sankyo’s deal this month to buy control of Ranbaxy may mark the start of a trend, while a counterbid by Sanofi-Aventis for Zentiva has added to the speculation.

“As large-cap pharma fights over emerging market opportunities, OTC (over-the-counter) and generics franchises could provide enhanced market access and the ability to drive brand differentiation,” Deutsche analysts said in a note.

“Our screen suggests companies such as Stada, Cipla Dr Reddy’s Pharmastandard Lupin and Aurobindo could offer attractive fits for pharma.” Other Japanese companies, in particular, may well follow Daiichi’s example of acquiring a generic player, given the rising demand for generic medicines in Japan and the opportunity to win new markets, they added.

Reuters