Getting ahead for patients: how GSK is helping to redefine prevention in the UK

*This article has been created and funded by GSK

An Expert View from Michelle Murray, Vice President Health, Value & Access, GSK UK Commercial.

An emerging key component of delivering quality healthcare today is the idea of patient-centered care – healthcare that is tailored to personal preferences and individual needs, providing dignity within clinical settings. This is certainly a transformation the UK government is looking to make in their bid to build a National Health Service (NHS) fit for the future through three key shifts: sickness to prevention, analogue to digital, and shifting more care from hospital to community.¹ GSK is eager to support the NHS by working to develop novel treatments, advance research, carry out representative clinical trials, and utilize strategic partnerships that will transform patient care, ensure equitable access to treatment, and empower patients to be stewards of their health.

Improving patient care through prevention and partnerships

Health inequalities often reflect broader societal disparities linked to socioeconomic and personal factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability and income² – those most impacted by these inequalities often face systemic barriers to accessing care and treatment which further exacerbate inequalities. GSK recognizes this mounting issue and is committed to advancing patient care by promoting health equality and social inclusion as part of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England and the NHS England Equality and Health Inequalities Hub.³ 

With a robust pipeline of 71 vaccines and specialty medicines, GSK aims to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade.⁴ GSK is actively addressing health inequalities throughout the UK by engaging in a variety of strategic partnerships and programmes. Additionally, GSK is committed to increasing health literacy to allow patients to effectively advocate for themselves in clinical settings and better understand their condition and the treatment needed. This is achieved by partnering with patient groups to make sure educational campaigns are targeted and effective. One such initiative is GSK’s ‘MPN Voice Time To Be Seen’ campaign, which is designed to empower people living with myeloproliferative neoplasm to be more informed of their blood cancer and feel confident when engaging with their support networks.⁵

Harnessing patient insights for healthcare advancements

In the UK, the government is committed to shifting away from illness to prevention and ensuring healthcare is increasingly shaped by the voices and experiences of patients⁶ – reflective of an integral shift towards truly patient-centred care. GSK is committed to harnessing patient insight, a strategy vital to driving innovation and improving outcomes within and beyond the NHS. Getting ahead for patients means focusing on innovation in preventative medicines.

With more than £6.4 billion ($8.55 billion) invested in R&D across our portfolio globally in 2024, GSK is advancing healthcare.⁷ GSK recognises the need for inclusive, representative foundational research to drive drug development, including a better understanding of the immune system’s role in chronic conditions. In December 2021, GSK launched a major five-year collaboration with the University of Oxford with a financial investment of £30 million to establish the Oxford-GSK Institute of Molecular and Computational Medicine. This initiative aims to deepen the understanding of complex diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to support drug discovery and deliver precision therapies that slow or halt disease progression.⁸

In a similar partnership with the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, GSK is investing over £50 million over five years to establish the ‘Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (CG-TIC). This project looks to combine expertise in immunology, AI, and clinical development to develop precise treatments for kidney and respiratory diseases.⁹ As a founding partner of the Fleming Initiative, GSK has demonstrated commitment to tackle the global health challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in partnership with the NHS. This initiative brings together multi-stakeholder support from academia to industry, combining our expertise and securing £100 million to advance AI-driven drug discovery, improve diagnostics, tackle fungal resistance, and map environmental links to predict and effectively prevent emerging threats.¹⁰

GSK’s dedication to delivering better health outcomes is further demonstrated by the significant number of clinical trials undertaken annually across multiple therapy areas. Ahead of enrolment for each clinical trial, as a company we ensure enrolment thresholds are in place to represent disease epidemiology, with 88% of Phase III trials meeting these enrolment thresholds in 2024.¹¹ Representation doesn’t just begin in the trial centres. GSK collaborates with the NHS and patient groups across the country to drive innovation built on patient insights and enable access to medicines. The power of technology cannot be understated, GSK recognises this and invests in hubs that leverage data such as the GSK London AI hub. Our AI/ML team has more than 160 AI and machine learning specialists based in our key R&D sites globally¹² where they are using advanced data analysis to predict disease development and drive early and targeted interventions.¹³ By integrating patient perspectives into every stage – from early research to clinical trials to real-world implementation – GSK ensures that innovation is not only scientifically robust but also deeply relevant to the people it is designed to serve.

Looking ahead

Patient-first prevention is more than a strategy – it is a commitment. By tackling health inequalities, incorporating patient insights, and investing in research and technology, we support the NHS’s vision for a future-ready healthcare system.

Through our strategic partnerships and dedication to advancing patient care, we are helping the UK get ahead of disease and enabling a healthier society and economy by empowering individuals to better manage their health.

This is how we are getting ahead for patients: turning innovation, collaboration, and prevention into lasting impact. The journey is ongoing, and the work continues. By working together – industry, healthcare providers, policymakers and patient communities – we can ensure that prevention is proactive, inclusive and meaningful.

NP-GB-NA-WCNT-250007 November 2025

References:

1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6888a0b1a11f859994409147/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england.pdf

2 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/long-reads/tackling-health-inequalities-seven-priorities-nhs

3 https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/health-equalities-and-digital-inclusion/ 

4 https://www.gsk.com/media/bh5bjwzs/gsk-at-a-glance.pdf

5 https://www.mpnvoice.org.uk/living-with-mpns/mpn-time-to-be-seen

6 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6888a0b1a11f859994409147/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england.pdf

7 https://www.gsk.com/media/wrvfwob1/annual-report-2024.pdf

8 https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-and-the-university-of-oxford-launch-new-oxford-gsk-institute-to-harness-advanced-technology-and-unravel-mechanisms-of-disease/

9 https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-and-cambridge-university-announce-new-five-year-collaboration-in-kidney-and-respiratory-disease/

10 https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/gsk-to-become-a-founding-partner-of-fleming-initiative-to-fight-antimicrobial-resistance-amr/

11 https://www.gsk.com/media/2a0pomqk/responsible-business-performance-report-2024.pdf

12 https://www.gsk.com/media/ryjnw2s3/annual-report-2022.pdf

13 https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/behind-the-science-magazine/ai-and-ml-power-better-predictions-for-patient-impact/