GSK CEO Emma Walmsley Highlights US Investment Plans and NHS Challenges
GSK CEO Dame Emma Walmsley has declared the US as the best country for investment and announced plans to invest $30bn there by 2030.
Walmsley, who will leave GSK in January after eight years as chief executive, emphasized the importance of the US market, where GSK generates more than half of its turnover. The US is the leading market for launches of new drugs and vaccines and is considered alongside China as top for business development.
In contrast, other pharmaceutical companies appear to be scaling back UK investments; Merck/MSD has scrapped a planned £1bn UK expansion, and AstraZeneca has paused a £200m Cambridge facility investment while directing tens of billions towards the US.
A recent UK–US tariff deal will enable zero tariffs on UK-made medicines entering the US for three years. In exchange, the NHS will pay more for medicines. This agreement is viewed as a positive step towards reversing the NHS's long-term decline in its share of medicines spending and could encourage innovation.
One such innovation includes GSK’s asthma treatment, which requires dosing twice yearly and could reduce hospital admissions for serious asthma by about 70%. This treatment is expected to be considered for NHS approval within weeks.
Highlighting disparities within the UK, Walmsley cited postcode-based health outcome differences, noting life expectancy gaps of roughly 10–15 years. She called for addressing diet and nutrition as part of broader efforts to improve health outcomes.
