Supporting economic development

Successful innovation drives progress in society and in the case of pharmaceuticals, innovative medicines not only bring benefits for patients, improving health and quality of life, they also add value in other ways.

The growing demand for healthcare means ever-increasing pressure on the budgets of those who pay for it. In our discussions with these groups, we therefore include explanation of the economic as well as the therapeutic benefits of our products to ensure the full value of our medicines is understood.

Effective treatments can help to save healthcare costs by reducing the need for more expensive care, such as hospital stays or surgery. For example, a 2002 study in the US found that for each additional $1 spent on newer medicines, $6.17 could be saved on total healthcare expenditure (including a saving of $4.44 in hospital costs)¹.

Another US study, published in the US Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 2003, showed that the cost of treating a person suffering from depression fell throughout the 1990s, largely because of a switch from hospitalisation to medication. The study found that per-patient spending on depression fell by 19% over the course of the decade.

There are productivity benefits too. The use of innovative medicines that reduce the incidence of disease, or enable better disease management, means less time off work or away from school or other daily activities and increased productivity whilst engaged in these activities – helping patients to lead normal lives as active members of their communities.

The results of a 2006 study of the impact of illness on work productivity are shown in the graphic below^2.

As well as our products, our business activities in general also contribute to the economic development of the communities in which we operate, through local employment and wages, taxes, community support and the purchase of materials and services that are sourced locally and nationally. We are beginning to contribute in a similar way as we expand our presence in emerging economies, such as China, through investment in facilities, collaborations with local partners and clinical trial programmes, as well as employing people from the local community.

The impact of illness on work productivity in an employed population, calculated assuming a 40-hour working week

The content of this page was externally assured by Bureau Veritas, February 2009.

¹ Source: Frank R. Lichtenberg, "Benefits and Costs of Newer Drugs: An Update," National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA. June 2002.
² Source: P Wahlqvist, M Reilly, A Barkun: “Systematic review: the impact of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease on work productivity”, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2006:24(2):259-272.