In May of 2000, Aileen Allsop had already been working for the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years, initially in drug discovery, later in drug development and most recently in science policy - but a interesting challenge was still lying ahead: AstraZeneca CEO, Sir Tom McKillop, asked Allsop to take the company's CSR effort to a new level in order to possibly cope with unprecedented challenges for any pharmaceutical company at the beginning of the third millennium. The industry was not only struggling with thinning pipelines (meaning the industry's declining ability to deliver a steady volume of new patents), it was also perceived to be passive, given the vast spread of poverty related diseases in developing countries. A lack of meaningful intellectual rights and low levels of purchasing power within these regions gave strategic reason to focus instead on illnesses relevant primarily in the developed world. But public opinion expected leading pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca to contribute more strongly to the overcoming of diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis.

Would Allsop manage to use a CSR approach in a way that would help to cope with these pressing challenges?

Next >>