A DRUG company is leading a drive to cut newborn baby deaths after a senior official’s “lightbulb moment”.

GlaxoSmithKline has developed the Umbipro gel to tackle umbilical cord-related deaths in Africa and Asia.

Bosses say it could help save more than 420,000 lives over five years.

The inspiration for the venture was Dr Pauline Williams, who saw potential for the drug while reading a United Nations report at home.

Dr Williams, GSK’s head of global health research and development, says the document pinpointed the antiseptic chlorhexidine as a possible life-saving remedy.

Knowing chlorhexidine is already used in GSK’s Corsodyl mouthwash, she asked scientists to explore the potential extension of its use, and the business now expects to make at least six million sachets of the gel at its 1,400-job plant in Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Dr Williams said the gel, endorsed by the European Medicines Agency, will replace practices and traditions in Africa and Asia when the umbilical cord is cut, which include placing ash and dung on wounds to encourage healing.

Dr Williams added tests have been carried out to ensure Umbipro, which doesn’t need to be refrigerated, can cope with increased heat and humidity.

She told The Northern Echo: “I had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I was sitting at home reading a report on the effect this antiseptic had on saving lives when it was put on a freshly-cut umbilical cord.

“Any form of infection can get in if the wound, where the cord has been cut, is not properly cleaned and cause sepsis.

“The UN said if (this treatment) was authorised, it could save hundreds of thousands of lives.

“That was the challenge I took back to the team and said ‘can we do this?’

“I’m so proud of everyone for what they have done; I actually feel really emotional to have got to this point.

“We are one step closer to saving lives and this fits with our long-standing commitment to global health.

“People can see the tangible benefits of this and understand it; it really captures their hearts.

“The team at Barnard Castle have worked incredibly hard to make this treatment stable, so it doesn’t degrade in the high heat and humidity.”

She also praised Save The Children, which GSK is working alongside to improve the lives of youngsters around the world, saying the project represents a significant milestone between the organisations.

She said: “Our relationship meant we could tap into their expertise to help understand what packaging we should use.

“It also helped with the problem of no literacy skills because mothers can look at pictures to understand what they need to do.”

GSK is running the umbilical cord project as non-profit endeavour and Dr Williams says it aims to use the backing of the EMA to get African and Asian manufacturers into the supply chain and make the gel more freely available.

She added: “We can use the EMA’s opinion to go and market Umbipro in countries where we are targeting the supply.

“That is every country where the rate of infection is high, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.”

Ali Forder, Save The Children’s director of programme, policy and quality, said: “This is an exciting step forward and our partnership with GSK goes beyond the traditional corporate-charity model.

“This is a good example of how we can achieve better outcomes for children.”

GSK’s Barnard Castle factory is the company’s skin division headquarters, and is known for making antibiotics and liquid fillings for injections and nasal sprays.