Our Commitment to Canada

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a research-based pharmaceutical company devoted to discovering and developing new and innovative medicines, vaccines and health-care products for Canadians and people around the world. Every day, our employees strive to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
 

PEOPLE AND FACILITIES

• GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and health-care companies – is committed to improving the quality of life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
  
  

• The company’s 3,000 Canadian employees work to discover, develop, manufacture and market innovative medicines, vaccines and healthcare products.
  
  
• GlaxoSmithKline has been recognized as one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada for the past six years (annual Globe & Mail/Hewitt Associates survey).
  
  
• The company maintains divisional headquarters in Mississauga, Oakville and Laval, with regional offices in Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
  
  
• GlaxoSmithKline maintains three Canadian manufacturing facilities, situated in Mississauga, Ontario and in Quebec City and Laval, Quebec.
  
  

KEY THERAPEUTIC AREAS & MEDICINES

• GSK produces medicines for five major disease areas – respiratory illness, diabetes, virus control, infections and central nervous system disorders. In addition, we are a leader in the important area of vaccines and are developing new treatments for cancer. GlaxoSmithKline’s medicines treat:

• GlaxoSmithKIine is Canada’s leading flu vaccine manufacturer and supplies 75 per cent of Canadian government seasonal flu vaccine purchases. 
  
  
• Our Consumer Healthcare division includes dental health products, over-the-counter medicines and nutritional drinks.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• GlaxoSmithKline invested more than $178 million in Canadian research and development (R&D) in 2007 alone, ranking it among the top 15 contributors to R&D in Canada, across all industries.
  
  

• In 2007, GlaxoSmithKline invested close to $45 million in clinical trials in Canada, conducting more than 80 trials and enrolling well over 2,900 patients. This represents approximately six per cent of the company’s worldwide clinical trial program. The Clinical Development Group typically works on more than 35 different chemical compounds varying from phase I to phase IV trials.
  
  

• The $22 million GlaxoSmithKline Pathfinders Fund for Leaders in Canadian Health Science Research was established to help Canada become a world leader in R&D. This initiative encourages health science research and fosters innovation in Canadian medical schools.

MANUFACTURING

• GlaxoSmithKline maintains three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that produce innovative medicines and vaccines for patients in Canada and around the world.
  
  
• GSK’s Mississauga site is a manufacturing and development facility, located adjacent to the company’s headquarters.
  
  
• The company is Canada’s leading producer of vaccines, with manufacturing and development facilities in Laval and Quebec City, Quebec.  
  
  

• More than 75 medicines and 40 million units are produced annually at the Mississauga facility. Approximately 80 per cent of the production is exported to more than 100 markets worldwide.
  
  

• In 2007, the Mississauga manufacturing facility produced and shipped approximately $1.5 billion worth of products, representing approximately 25 per cent of total pharmaceutical shipments produced in Canada.
  
  

• GlaxoSmithKline has secured exclusive worldwide production mandates for its facility in Mississauga to manufacture Mepron® suspension, to treat pneumonia common in AIDS patients, and Malarone® tablets, to treat malaria.
  
  

• The Mississauga site is also the single global production site for a number of oral liquid products.
  
  

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

• PRIISME®, GlaxoSmithKline's community-based chronic disease management program, helps health-care providers support patients suffering from asthma, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More than 50 PRIISME® projects are currently underway across the country, with many new projects being added regularly.

• GlaxoSmithKline created Community Asthma Care Centres (CACCs) in partnership with Canadian hospitals in 1994. Operating in more than 50 locations across the country, CACCs help patients better manage their asthma through education, resulting in significant cost savings to the health-care system.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS

• GlaxoSmithKline is committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work, and annually donates a minimum of one per cent of pre-tax profits through The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation and other channels.

• The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, in conjunction with the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and hospice palliative care organizations across the country, launched Living Lessons®. Established in 1998, the national campaign aims to raise awareness of, and support for, hospice palliative care services.
  
  

• GlaxoSmithKline is a leading contributor to Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC), a charitable organization that provides free medications, medical supplies and vaccines donated by Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies to developing world countries and disaster areas. Since 1994, GlaxoSmithKline has contributed almost $23 million in humanitarian product donations.

 

For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
Tel: 905 819-3000
www.gsk.ca