“Pakistan is a vibrant economy, open for business. I want to see more of Britain’s leading companies, like GSK, doing business, creating jobs and supporting economic growth in both the UK and Pakistan”, said UK’s Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands.
As a part of his three-day visit to Pakistan, the UK Minister for Trade Policy Greg Hands visited a factory of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Karachi to see how the company, as a major British investor, is successfully doing business in Pakistan, supporting the Pakistani economy including by creating jobs and contributing to society.
Minister Hands visited GSK as a part of a three-day visit to Islamabad and Karachi in order to strengthen the UK-Pakistan bilateral trade relationship.
Whilst touring the state of the art facility at F268 S.I.T.E area, the minister heard first-hand how GSK Pakistan, established in its current form in 2001, is the largest pharmaceutical company in Pakistan today, employing 1,700 people in the country and making a difference to patients’ lives every day.
The minister toured the state of the art facility and heard how one of GSK’s vaccines has been in use in Pakistan EPI’s National Immunization Program since 2012, protecting millions of newborns against pneumonia. Continuing from the successful integration of the pneumococcal vaccine, a second vaccine has been introduced in the program (in 2016) for Rotavirus Diarrhea.
M Azizul Huq, VP & General Manager GSK Pakistan said, “It was indeed a great privilege to host the Minister and his entourage to showcase the successful operations of GSK Pakistan. As market leader in Pakistan with 3 manufacturing facilities and a very diverse portfolio, we are proud to be able to provide top quality medicines to the Pakistani population. Our talented people not only serve local operations but also represent Pakistan in a host of regional and global roles across the GSK organization.”
GSK is a long-established investor in Pakistan. GSK’s legacy company Glaxo Laboratories Pakistan Ltd. was the first pharmaceutical company to be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 1951.
GSK operates in Pakistan through two legal entities: Pharmaceuticals (prescription drugs and vaccines) and consumer healthcare (over-the-counter-medicines, oral care and nutritional care). In Pakistan, the Company deals in Anti-infective, Respiratory, Vaccines, Dermatological, Gastrointestinal, Analgesics, Urology, Central Nervous System, Allergy, Cardiovascular and Vitamins therapy areas.
