Save the Children, drug company GSK in new partnership

13 May, 2013 - The British multinational pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is giving Save the Children $23 million and entering into a five-year partnership with the charity to try to save the lives of 1 million children. The chief executives of the two groups visited a remote health clinic in Kenya on Thursday where they spoke to a mother who was devastated to see her three children die of diarrhea, but was happy that her 5-year-old daughter was getting treatment for pneumonia. ``That story is the story globally. We see far too many children dying from diarrhea, but we've also turned a corner,'' said
GSK chief executive Andrew Witty. Justin Forsyth, the head of Save the Children said GSK, one of the world's leading drug makers, has been working to increase expanded access to medicine over the last five to six years, an approach he said has high shareholder support.
One initiative in the new partnership is to transform an antiseptic used in mouthwash into a lifesaving product to prevent infections when umbilical cords are cut. Another is an accelerated rollout of a child-friendly antibiotic used to treat pneumonia. ``We need to make sure we are making available to the best of our availability our strengths and talents not only for folks who live in rich countries but wherever there are needs,'' Witty said. Forsyth said he used to campaign against GSK when ``they kept the prices very high for AIDS drugs.'' But he said GSK has changed and is now at the forefront in terms of access to medicine and investment in malaria vaccines. Save the Children will also have a seat on a GSK research and development board for pediatric medicine. (Source: AP)