Press Release
GBT Launches Inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report
“Since our founding, GBT has been focused on areas in which we believe we can make the largest impact and deliver the greatest value. Our business strategies, values and social purpose have been intentionally woven together, ensuring ESG is always at the core of our business. Every day, GBT employees around the world work to advance our goal to transform the lives of people living with SCD and other underserved orphan diseases – while upholding our ethics and values in all that we do,” said
GBT’s inaugural ESG report focuses on four key areas for delivering long-term sustainable value for its business and society:
- improving access to affordable healthcare, to improve the lives of patients;
- investing in communities and GBT employees, to power the company’s ability to deliver for patients;
- increasing environmental sustainability, as health equity and environmental health are related; and
- upholding ethics and values, which are the foundation of everything GBT does.
Highlights from the ESG report include:
Affordable Access to Treatment
GBT is advancing health equity by taking a leadership role in transforming the treatment of SCD through scientific innovation and ensuring that communities of color have access to its medicines, including Oxbryta® (voxelotor), a first-in-class therapy that directly addresses the root cause of red blood cell sickling in SCD. Since it was founded in 2011, GBT has invested more than
GBT regularly engages with SCD patients, caregivers and community-based organizations via ongoing advisory boards, hosting the annual
Employees and Communities
GBT is committed to fostering a diverse values-driven culture that cultivates and develops talent reflective of the communities where its employees live and work and which advances corporate citizenship. Since 2021, the company has released workforce composition data as part of its ongoing commitment to transparency. GBT’s team represents a broad range of cultural and professional backgrounds, enriching its corporate culture and driving its potential growth and long-term success. As of
One of the most salient features of GBT’s workplace diversity and inclusion strategies surrounds pay equity for all employees. Since 2020, GBT has engaged an independent third party to assess its pay equity practices, with results confirming its pay practices are equitable without significant discrepancies based upon gender or ethnicity. For the past two years, GBT has been included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a framework that helps bring transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly-listed companies around the world.
In 2021, GBT donated more than
Environmental Sustainability
GBT noted its commitment to reducing its footprint to protect the environment and reduce health impacts from climate change. With much of the SCD global patient population and caregiver base located in underserved communities, GBT works with those who are often the hardest hit by climate-related disasters and other environmental impacts. In 2020, GBT moved to a new
Ethics and Values
GBT engages all stakeholders and operates with the highest standards of integrity and transparency in its research operations, sales and marketing, in line with its cultural values. GBT trains all of its employees annually on its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to reinforce its commitment to operating with integrity and fostering a culture of compliance that creates ownership by every employee with mechanisms for raising and addressing concerns and promoting collaboration. Specific to ESG, GBT’s Board of Directors has responsibility for overseeing GBT’s strategy, with execution led by functional experts throughout the company and support from the senior management team.
About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects more than 100,000 people in
About
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of life-changing treatments that provide hope to underserved patient communities, starting with sickle cell disease (SCD). Founded in 2011, GBT is delivering on its goal to transform the treatment and care of SCD, a lifelong, devastating inherited blood disorder. The company has introduced Oxbryta® (voxelotor), the first FDA-approved medicine that directly inhibits sickle hemoglobin (HbS) polymerization, the root cause of red blood cell sickling in SCD. GBT is also advancing its pipeline program in SCD with inclacumab, a P-selectin inhibitor in Phase 3 development to address pain crises associated with the disease, and GBT021601 (GBT601), the company’s next generation HbS polymerization inhibitor. In addition, GBT’s drug discovery teams are working on new targets to develop the next wave of potential treatments for SCD. To learn more, please visit www.gbt.com and follow GBT on Twitter @GBT_news.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements containing the words “will,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “expects,” and “intends,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on GBT’s current expectations and actual results could differ materially. Statements in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. GBT intends these forward-looking statements, including statements regarding GBT’s priorities, commitment, dedication, focus, goals, mission, vision, and positioning; the safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action of Oxbryta, and other product characteristics; the commercialization, awareness, delivery, availability, use, and commercial and medical potential of Oxbryta; GBT’s ESG priorities and related activities and plans, including delivering sustainable value for patients, society and its business, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion; advancing health equity, making an impact and delivering value; impacting the treatment, care, and course of SCD, mitigating related complications and transforming the lives of people living with SCD and other underserved orphan diseases; safety, efficacy, mechanism of action, advancement and potential of GBT’s drug candidates and pipeline; and working on new targets and discovering, developing, and delivering treatments, to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, and GBT makes this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements reflect GBT’s current views about its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies, and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to the company and on assumptions the company has made. GBT can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations, or strategies will be attained or achieved, and, furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond GBT’s control, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent and duration of the impact on GBT’s business, including commercialization activities, regulatory efforts, research and development, corporate development activities, and operating results, which will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing, and business closure requirements in the
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Sickle Cell Disease Research. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hemoglobinopathies/scdc-understanding-sickle-cell-disease.html. Accessed February 23, 2022.European Medicines Agency . https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/orphan-designations/eu3182125. AccessedFebruary 23, 2022 .- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html. Accessed February 23, 2022.
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Sickle Cell Disease. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sickle-cell-disease. Accessed February 23, 2022.
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Contact Information:
Steven Immergut (media)
+1 650-410-3258
simmergut@gbt.com
Courtney Roberts (investors)
+1 650-351-7881
croberts@gbt.com

Source: Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.