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| GSK's Andrew Witty: the man who sold the world cheaper medicines GSK's Andrew Witty: the man who sold the world cheaper medicines | |
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| When Andrew Witty became CEO of one of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in the world, GlaxoSmithKline, his industry was so unpopular that campaigners threw red paint at company stands during conferences to represent the blood of those who died because they could not afford medicines. | When Andrew Witty became CEO of one of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in the world, GlaxoSmithKline, his industry was so unpopular that campaigners threw red paint at company stands during conferences to represent the blood of those who died because they could not afford medicines. |
| Ten years on, as Witty, now Sir Andrew, prepares to retire from GSK, Big Pharma is increasingly being seen as part of the solution to global health issues and not the problem. Few would deny that a great deal of the credit goes to Witty. | Ten years on, as Witty, now Sir Andrew, prepares to retire from GSK, Big Pharma is increasingly being seen as part of the solution to global health issues and not the problem. Few would deny that a great deal of the credit goes to Witty. |
| Two years into his tenure, with Big Pharma’s reputation in the mire over the unaffordable cost of Aids drugs for people dying in Africa, Witty announced a major change of strategy. GSK would slash its prices in the poorest countries to no more than 25% of the UK price. It would also put any patents it owned over putative drugs that may have some effect on neglected tropical diseases into a “pool”, which would allow anybody to investigate them. | Two years into his tenure, with Big Pharma’s reputation in the mire over the unaffordable cost of Aids drugs for people dying in Africa, Witty announced a major change of strategy. GSK would slash its prices in the poorest countries to no more than 25% of the UK price. It would also put any patents it owned over putative drugs that may have some effect on neglected tropical diseases into a “pool”, which would allow anybody to investigate them. |
| There was, he recalls, “a sharp intake of breath” from his competitors on the day the patent pools were announced, “but within a couple of years, we had 15 or 16 companies that had signed up to the patent pool and we’ve made huge progress.” | There was, he recalls, “a sharp intake of breath” from his competitors on the day the patent pools were announced, “but within a couple of years, we had 15 or 16 companies that had signed up to the patent pool and we’ve made huge progress.” |
| Later, he helped instigate a meeting of all the big company CEOs in London with Bill Gates to pledge to help end the neglected tropical diseases that affect millions in poor countries yet are unheard of in the west, such as leishmaniasis and trachoma. They donate drugs, pay for their distribution and continue to meet every year. | Later, he helped instigate a meeting of all the big company CEOs in London with Bill Gates to pledge to help end the neglected tropical diseases that affect millions in poor countries yet are unheard of in the west, such as leishmaniasis and trachoma. They donate drugs, pay for their distribution and continue to meet every year. |
| “You think about the number of times you hear these meetings where everybody announces something and nothing happens,” Witty says. “And in this situation we’re talking about billions of doses of medicine being delivered to tens and hundreds of millions of people. It’s huge and as an industry we should be super, super proud of that. | “You think about the number of times you hear these meetings where everybody announces something and nothing happens,” Witty says. “And in this situation we’re talking about billions of doses of medicine being delivered to tens and hundreds of millions of people. It’s huge and as an industry we should be super, super proud of that. |
| “So if we played a small role in catalysing that, if that’s the only thing I did in my life, that’s not a terrible thing. And I’m very proud if we made that contribution, and what we’ve tried to do is continue to look for ways, keep on looking in different spaces, to say: is there something we can do here which can help further?” | “So if we played a small role in catalysing that, if that’s the only thing I did in my life, that’s not a terrible thing. And I’m very proud if we made that contribution, and what we’ve tried to do is continue to look for ways, keep on looking in different spaces, to say: is there something we can do here which can help further?” |
| He cites as an example the “flexible IP” announcement in March, which was a pledge not to seek patents in the least developed countries and to grant licences to generic drug manufacturers to make cheap copies of their branded medicines in middle-income countries. GSK also said it intended to put new cancer drugs in a patent pool, as a response to the growing numbers dying of cancer in developing countries. | He cites as an example the “flexible IP” announcement in March, which was a pledge not to seek patents in the least developed countries and to grant licences to generic drug manufacturers to make cheap copies of their branded medicines in middle-income countries. GSK also said it intended to put new cancer drugs in a patent pool, as a response to the growing numbers dying of cancer in developing countries. |
| “We will wait and see whether companies follow or not, but I think it raises the question for companies that may not have considered it and they have to address it,” he says. | “We will wait and see whether companies follow or not, but I think it raises the question for companies that may not have considered it and they have to address it,” he says. |
| Last week, for the fifth year running, GSK topped a league table compiled by the Access to Medicines Foundation, which scores the companies on a range of measures, from pricing and donation to research and development. | Last week, for the fifth year running, GSK topped a league table compiled by the Access to Medicines Foundation, which scores the companies on a range of measures, from pricing and donation to research and development. |
| Witty says ranking top in the index is important, but what matters more is that companies now care about it. “One day we won’t be number one and I think that’s fine because hopefully what we’ve done in the period … is encourage other companies to compete and strive in a space which 10 years ago people probably weren’t competing and striving in.” | Witty says ranking top in the index is important, but what matters more is that companies now care about it. “One day we won’t be number one and I think that’s fine because hopefully what we’ve done in the period … is encourage other companies to compete and strive in a space which 10 years ago people probably weren’t competing and striving in.” |
| GSK long ago took the view “that drug companies don’t need to be just about innovation and return to shareholder”. He talks of the “twin poles” of their business model, which are innovation – finding new drugs – and access. | GSK long ago took the view “that drug companies don’t need to be just about innovation and return to shareholder”. He talks of the “twin poles” of their business model, which are innovation – finding new drugs – and access. |
| He denies there has been much resistance from shareholders, among whom there are those interested mainly in the returns and others who are, like many in the general public, concerned about societal issues. Other big businesses may want to take note. | He denies there has been much resistance from shareholders, among whom there are those interested mainly in the returns and others who are, like many in the general public, concerned about societal issues. Other big businesses may want to take note. |
| “Where is some of the discontent, whether it’s of government or of big companies, where is some of that coming from?” he asks of the general mood of revolt against the establishment that has bubbled up this year. | “Where is some of the discontent, whether it’s of government or of big companies, where is some of that coming from?” he asks of the general mood of revolt against the establishment that has bubbled up this year. |
| “Some of that I think is coming from the perspective that actually these companies aren’t necessarily doing as much as ‘the people’ would like to see done on broader societal issues, whether that’s environmental, whether it’s access to medicine – there are a number of these themes,” he says. | “Some of that I think is coming from the perspective that actually these companies aren’t necessarily doing as much as ‘the people’ would like to see done on broader societal issues, whether that’s environmental, whether it’s access to medicine – there are a number of these themes,” he says. |
| He readily acknowledges that offering lower prices and waiving patents in Africa will help build the business there. | He readily acknowledges that offering lower prices and waiving patents in Africa will help build the business there. |
| “In the long run, these things do have a fairly concrete benefit to shareholders in the sense that you are building capacity, economic stabilisation, all of those things,” he says. “You’re also building trust, I think, between the company and the country and the people of the country.” | “In the long run, these things do have a fairly concrete benefit to shareholders in the sense that you are building capacity, economic stabilisation, all of those things,” he says. “You’re also building trust, I think, between the company and the country and the people of the country.” |
| The access to medicine index, which has been going since 2008 and is funded by the Gates Foundation and the UK and Dutch governments, was not entirely complimentary about GSK. The company lost points for a corruption scandal in China, which Witty calls “a disappointment”. | The access to medicine index, which has been going since 2008 and is funded by the Gates Foundation and the UK and Dutch governments, was not entirely complimentary about GSK. The company lost points for a corruption scandal in China, which Witty calls “a disappointment”. |
| And Médecins Sans Frontières criticised the index for highlighting some good practice among pharma companies that served to hide their failings. GSK and Pfizer had just dropped the price of their pneumococcal vaccine for use in emergencies but continued to charge high prices to middle-income countries, it said. | And Médecins Sans Frontières criticised the index for highlighting some good practice among pharma companies that served to hide their failings. GSK and Pfizer had just dropped the price of their pneumococcal vaccine for use in emergencies but continued to charge high prices to middle-income countries, it said. |
| Witty’s answer is that the vaccine, against the leading killer of babies in Africa, is incredibly complex because it is 10 vaccines in one. “It’s a very, very difficult vaccine to make and honestly it’s unrealistic – when people say you can have three for a dollar, you can’t. I’d love to say yes, but you can’t. It’s never going to happen.” | Witty’s answer is that the vaccine, against the leading killer of babies in Africa, is incredibly complex because it is 10 vaccines in one. “It’s a very, very difficult vaccine to make and honestly it’s unrealistic – when people say you can have three for a dollar, you can’t. I’d love to say yes, but you can’t. It’s never going to happen.” |
| The bottom line is that they cannot make a loss. “I think we are doing everything we can to have the volumes available and we are already leading the way to bringing down the prices as far as we can,” he says. “But at some point there is an irreducible minimum. Ultimately if you make no income on anything, you don’t exist.” | The bottom line is that they cannot make a loss. “I think we are doing everything we can to have the volumes available and we are already leading the way to bringing down the prices as far as we can,” he says. “But at some point there is an irreducible minimum. Ultimately if you make no income on anything, you don’t exist.” |
| This big question is whether Witty’s initiatives will all be undone after he vacates his desk next March. He says not. His successor, Emma Walmsley, also believes in the access agenda, he says. “I don’t think there’s any great risk about her not being interested. She will be engaged and interested.” | This big question is whether Witty’s initiatives will all be undone after he vacates his desk next March. He says not. His successor, Emma Walmsley, also believes in the access agenda, he says. “I don’t think there’s any great risk about her not being interested. She will be engaged and interested.” |
| The clashes with campaigners who want drug companies to do more will continue beyond Witty’s retirement. But those who think he has not gone far enough will also hope he has taken the pharmaceutical industry in a direction from which there will be no turning back. | The clashes with campaigners who want drug companies to do more will continue beyond Witty’s retirement. But those who think he has not gone far enough will also hope he has taken the pharmaceutical industry in a direction from which there will be no turning back. |