GSK gets award for efforts to end lymphatic filariasis

At ceremonies in New York, USA, on May 10, UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline was honored by the International Chamber of Commerce as a recipient of the 2006 World Business Award. The Award highlights GSK's involvement in a global program to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, a disease that disproportionately affects the world's poor. The LF program was one of 10 initiatives selected for the award from among 73 projects from 33 countries.

"For the first time since smallpox and polio, we have the opportunity to eliminate a disease from the face of the earth," said Jean Pierre Garnier, chief executive of GSK. "For too long, lymphatic filariasis has been a neglected disease that plagues the poorest communities in the developing world with severe economic, social and physiological suffering. But we can change all that. We can and will eliminate LF from the face of the earth and ensure that no country or person ever again suffers from the effects of this dreaded and disabling disease," he added.

On May 9, at the United Nation's headquarters, the 2006 World Business Award winners gave overviews of their projects to the 14th meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.