
GlaxoSmithKline
Company Score
+0.45GSK is a global healthcare company, researching and developing products for its three main arms of business - pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer health care. It is a British multinational company with a head office based in London.
Its top-selling products are Advair, Avodart, Flovent, Augmentin, Lovaza and Lamictal. Well recognised consumer products include Sensodyne and Aquafresh toothpaste, Horlicks, Nicorette and Night Nurse. Its pharma business develops and sells drugs for the treatment of acute illnesses and diseases, and the vaccination arm develops vaccinations. GSK currently delivers over 2 million vaccine doses per day in 160 countries. The World Health Organization 'Model List of Essential Medicines', feature many of GSK legacy products such as amoxicillin, mercaptopurine, and pyrimethamine.
Read about GlaxoSmithKline and its impact below.
Impact notes
GSK, 10 billion pills donated (and counting) to address neglected diseases.


Nearly 30% of the world's population (2 bn people) lack access to basic healthcare services1. Further, impacted people are predominantly living in low and middle-income countries where demographic growth is the strongest2;p.1, thus increasing the scale of the challenge.
Guided by its female CEO, GSK is the right way to eradicate gender inequality in its workforce.


Women accounted for 70% of the world's total health care workers in 20191;p3. Women tend to be part-time employees more likely than men. Globally, in health care, the pay gap between men and women was 11.2% in 20191;p3. The Inclusion of women in healthcare is more important because women make up 80% of decision-makers in using medicines at home3.
GlaxoSmithKline donated USD 360 Mn in 2019 for community health programs


According to the World Health Organisation approximately 2 Bn people lack access to basic medicines1. About 80% of the global population lives in countries where access to controlled medicines that are used for relieving moderate pains is zero or minute2;p15. Worldwide, about 100 Mn people end up in extreme poverty due to out of pocket health expenses3.
GlaxoSmithKline discharged 9.9 Mn m3 of wastewater in FY2019


The UN has stated that 80% of global discharged wastewater returns into the environment without being properly treated2. In the pharmaceutical industry, approximately half of the wastewater produced is discharged without proper treatment1. A major wastewater source in the pharmaceutical industry comes from washing and cleaning equipment in various manufacturing plants after each batch of medicines3;p4.
GlaxoSmithKline' popular medicine Zinetac has Ranitidine which is a Carcinogen


In 7 years, from 2011-2017, the FDA received more than 5.4Mn reports of side effects of drugs prescribed by the doctors; this also included 1Mn death1. Indeed, prescription drugs are often accompanied by undesirable secondary effects1. Manufacturers need to disclose the potential side effects so that the prescribing doctor and patient can weigh the benefits against the risks1.