Supporting GSK people to do the right thing
We are committed to operating responsibly and we expect that everyone who works for us, or on our behalf, conducts themselves in the right way and in line with our Code of Conduct.
All individuals working at GSK have to complete our ‘Working at GSK’ training programme, which details what our company expects from employees. Our people also receive additional anti-bribery and corruption (ABAC) training. This helps them to identify and mitigate any potential ABAC risk - especially in third-party relationships - and to recognise, report and manage conflicts of interest. Our people also complete Mandatory annual conduct training which outlines our zero tolerance of harassment in any form and gives guidance on the support and advice available.
Everyone working inside or outside of GSK can raise concerns or speak to an independent third party through our integrity lines, without fear of retaliation. We take all concerns very seriously and review each report to see whether we need to investigate formally. If our investigations show an employee has breached our policies, we will take action accordingly.
More on our ethical standards at global level
Engaging with healthcare professionals
GSK is committed to disclosing the payments we make, as we work together with healthcare professionals.
Global speaker programmes
For patients to benefit from new medical innovations, HCPs need to access and understand the latest available data and clinical use of the product.
Feedback from HCPs shows that they prefer to learn about new data and clinical experience through peer-to-peer programmes with global expert practitioners who have direct experience with our medicines.
To help HCPs share new data on our products and understand their clinical use, in some cases we:
- make fair market value payments to global expert practitioners who speak about the new science behind selected GSK products, their associated diseases and clinical practice in promotional settings
- pay reasonable travel costs (except in the US) for an HCP to attend a GSK-organised standalone meeting to learn about data and clinical expertise.
- directly pay registration fees for HCPs to attend remote congress webinars/webcasts. We do not sponsor HCPs to attend local and international conferences.
This policy is limited to select products in certain countries around the world and controls and training are in place, including measures to track appropriate payment and use of external speakers.
Where legally permitted, we will report individual-level payments made each year to HCPs for attending educational meetings and for the provision of services, such as speaking at events or attending advisory boards. Where individual level disclosure is not legally permitted, we will continue to report aggregate payments.
Collaborating on clinical trials and research
Healthcare professionals (HCPs) help us identify potential volunteers for clinical trials, administer the investigational medicine or vaccine to patients, and monitor the results.
All HCPs who work with us on clinical trials have contracts and are paid for their work on these clinical trials. This payment covers their time, plus the cost of investigations they may need to carry out regarding the suitability of a patient and the effectiveness of the treatment.
We have a commitment to publicly disclose the research payments that are made to healthcare professionals and to their institutions for conducting clinical research.
Disclosure reports
We acknowledge the importance of increased transparency and of putting the patient at the centre of every decision we take. We remain committed to disclosing the payments we make to HCPs and intend to expand our reporting of payments to individual HCPs.
Since 2019, where legally permitted, we report individual level payments made each year to HCPs for attending educational meetings and for the provision of services, such as speaking at events or attending advisory boards. Where individual level disclosure is not legally permitted, we will continue to report aggregate payments.
