A personal mission to uplift Filipino healthcare

"Nobody should be deprived of any medicine just because they are poor."

This is a common sentiment among many Filipinos – that the less fortunate should have equal access to medicines and quality healthcare. But when uttered by the local chief executive of one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, one can be sure that the words are not devoid of meaning.

GlaxoSmithKline Philippines (GSK) president and managing director Amado "Lito" T. Tadena is very much aware that running a top-notch company in a developing country is tough. But despite the circumstances, he still believes that the solution to the problem of getting much-needed medicines to the poor is just waiting to be found.

"My way of thinking – that the poor should get the medicines they need to improve their lives – comes from working with GlaxoSmithKline," Tadena said. "I know the amount of precious time and resources GSK’s research and development division spends to develop products that are literally ‘life-saving,"’ and nothing would please me more than to know that I had a hand in giving the poor access to them."

Life-saving drugs and programs

But developing life-saving drugs is only one end of the deal; the harder part getting people to buy the medicines they need – is another story. Soft spoken yet undoubtedly brilliant, Tadena attributes this to the fact that many patients consider buying medicines as a "grudge purchase."

"A lot of patients will only go out to buy medicines when they are miserably sick, and sometimes, it might already be too late. Most of them cannot even afford to buy the medicines that might, for example, save them from a costly operation. Unfortunately, the public don’t realize that the research, development and approval of life-saving drugs are equally expensive," he said.

This seemingly unavoidable conflict of wanting to help the poor, yet needing to run a profitable business, is why GlaxoSmithKline has numerous programs that aim to educate people and provide them better access to medicines. Most of the programs aim to stress the obvious – that quality medicines and education are the crucial components of an effective healthcare system that can help treat diseases, and in the end, prolong lives.

One particular program is on patient compliance. This aims to help ensure that those taking medication for a prescribed period of time follow their individual treatment plans strictly. Ultimately, the program ensures that patients have less chance of a relapse or that they do not develop a resistace to the drug.

As programs such as these are implemented, Tadena good-naturedly guides his trusted management team as they forge partnerships with both the government and private sectors. The partnerships, particularly those with the Department of Health (DOH), ensure that the programs contribute to GSK’s open agenda of helping educate Filipinos on the country’s most prevalent diseases.

GSK has programs for diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma and COPD, hypertension, hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, herpes, lymphatic filariasis, nicotine addiction, migraine, clinical depression and immunization.

Hands-on boss

As president of the company for the past six years, the youthful-looking Lito is assured that GlaxoSmithKline’s many projects will continue to succeed with the help of top caliber employees. He stresses, though, that those he delegates the work to must get the job done. But even if he is satisfied with the performance of his team, Tadena continues to be a "hands-on" type of boss. And in the process, he makes it a point not to intimidate employees by keeping a jovial attitude.

As a way of involving himself in the many intricate aspects of a pharmaceutical company. Tadena consciously strives to keep his communication lines open – from vice presidents down to the rank and file employees. Approachable and willing to listen.

"We have come to a point where everybody has the same set of goals. Once staff members meet their individual objectives, then the company’s goals are met as well. I don’t even have to push them because they are self-motivated enough to become productive." This principle is also his reason for putting emphasis on employee development, to make sure quality people begets excellent work.

For Tadena, this kind of organizational structure makes a company hard to beat. Despite the pressure that GlaxoSmithKline faces (along with the other pharmaceutical companies in the country) regarding the counterfeits and the rising cost of drugs, Tadena is confident that GSK’s line up of quality products and empowered employees will help pull the company through whatever trail, virtually unscathed.