Corporate ocial Reponibility - Essay Example

The buine of Glaxo Laboratorie Ltd expanded greatly with the new market created by the founding of the National Health ervice (NH). In January 2001 Glaxo Wellcome plc and mithKline Beecham plc officially merged to become GlaxomithKline plc. The vault webite give quite a good up-to-date decription of the company: "Cobbled together from four izable and formerly independent pharmaceutical companie, GlaxomithKline i one of the giant of the indutry. In 2003, the company' revenue totaled $38 billion -- good for a profit of nearly $11 billion.

In addition to precription medication, Glaxo alo manufacture vaccine, over-the-counter (OTC) drug, oral care product and nutrition drink. In all, the company market more than 1,200 different brand which are old in 130 countrie worldwide. Thi comprehenive product line can be credited to Glaxo' maive $4 billion annual reearch and development budget, a well a to it 40,000 trong ale force -- the larget in the indutry -- that keep thoe product moving out of the warehoue and into the market. Glaxo' annual pharmaceutical ale make up approximately 7 percent of the worldwide market" (www.vault.com).

At an international level, intellectual property i protected through the World Trade Organiation' (WTO) Trade Related Apect of Intellectual Property Right (TRIP) Agreement. GK argue that patent and other intellectual property right play a vital role in encouraging the innovation and needed to develop new treatment for many of the mot eriou dieae. "We invet coniderable time and money to develop each new pharmaceutical product - an average of $800m per product. If a new product could immediately be copied and old by other we would not be able to continue to fund new reearch.

Thi would dicourage innovation and limit reearch into newer and better medicine and vaccine" (www.gk.com). A well, although the organiation acknowledge the fact that the TRIP agreement limit acce to eential medicine, uch a treatment for AID, it doe not ee them a the key barrier to acce to thee medicine. It argue that countrie hould be improving infratructure and increaing public invetment in health care.GlaxomithKline argue that it policy require that all marketing and promotional activitie are baed on valid cientific evidence, and comply with applicable law and regulation.

It alo comply with relevant indutry code of practice, uch a the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Aociation' (IFPMA) Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practice and the PhRMA Code on Interaction with Healthcare Profeional. Training i provided for all employee whoe poition require an undertanding of our marketing code, particularly ale repreentative(www.gk.com).GlaxomithKline recognie the importance of preerving the environment and protecting the health and afety of people who work for the company.

It ha a comprehenive et of environmental, health and afety programme that provide tructure for our approach. According to GK thee are baed on tandard that apply, without exception, to all of it ite around the world. "Environmental