GSK CEO elected Honorary Fellow by the Academy of Medical Sciences
Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, was one of four new Honorary Fellows admitted into the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) yesterday.
The four new Fellows, including Witty, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Baron Martin Rees of Ludlow and Baroness Mary Warnock of Weeke, were elected in recognition of the “outstanding contribution to medical science” made by each.
In the Academy’s statement, Witty is described as having over the last five years “pursued a set of policies which clearly puts the patient first in the commercial thinking of the organization and which recognises that the needs of individuals in developed and developing countries may require fundamentally different approaches to ensure that they are met”. Unlike an ordinary Fellowship, an Honorary Fellowship is “offered to those of the highest distinction in the field of medical science who would not necessarily be expected to participate in the affairs of the Academy but whose fellowship brings distinction to the Academy”.
Witty has held the post of CEO at GlaxoSmithKline since 2008, joining the company in 1985 as a management trainee and subsequently holding various positions within the company, including International Product Manager of Glaxo Holdings PLC, Managing Director of Glaxo South Africa and Vice President and General Manager of Marketing of Glaxo Wellcome Inc before taking the top spot. He was knighted in 2012 for services to the economy and the UK pharmaceutical industry.
In 2009 he announced that Glaxo would be pursuing a new strategy, slashing the prices of their drugs in developing countries, giving back a percentage of their profits to local clinics and hospitals and releasing some of their patents into the public domain in order to encourage innovation. In July 2012 Glaxo made the news for what government officials described as “the largest case of healthcare fraud in US history”, pleading guilty for criminal misdemeanor charges and settling for a fine of $3 billion. The charges were related to the promotion of off-label uses of blockbuster drugs including Paxil and Wellbutrin that went on before Witty became CEO of Glaxo.
The AMS is an independent body in the UK representing the diversity of medical science, whose mission it is to promote medical science and its translation into benefits for society. The Academy was established in 1998 and its objectives for 2012-2016 are: “promoting excellence; influencing policy to improve health and wealth; nurturing the next generation of medical researchers; linking academia, industry and the NHS; seizing international opportunities; and encouraging dialogue about the medical sciences”.
Professor Sir John Tooke PmedSci, President of the AMS said “these Honorary Fellows represent the wealth of talent and experience within the UK medical community. I am delighted the Academy can recognize them for the work they have done in the generation of cutting edge science and its transition into benefits for society. I look forward to working with them in the future”.