The
Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 266 No 7130 p46
Glaxosmithkline formally incorporated
GSK unveils its corporate identity
October retail sales
New ABPI code put on hold
BASF Pharma sold to Abbott
Glaxosmithkline Plc, the new company created by the merger of Glaxo Wellcome
Plc and Smithkline Beecham Plc, was formally incorporated on January 8.
The merger creates the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, with annual sales
of over £15bn and a research and development budget of about £2.3bn.
It has a 7.3 per cent share of the global pharmaceuticals market. The merged
company has more than 100,000 employees and supplies its products to 140 markets
around the world.
GSK will be a market leader in four of the five largest therapeutic categories
in the pharmaceutical industry - anti-infectives, central nervous system, respiratory,
and gastrointestinal/metabolic. It also holds a leading position in the vaccines
market and has a strong presence in consumer health care and non-prescription
medicines.
GSK is to have its corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom at a new office
complex currently being built by SB in Brentford, Middlesex. The UK operating
company is to be based at Stockley Park, near Heathrow airport, currently the
site of GW’s UK operations, while GW’s current corporate headquarters at Greenford,
Middlesex, will be predominantly a research and development site. Seven other
facilities owned or leased by the two companies are to be vacated by the beginning
of 2002. GSK says that the UK pharmaceuticals operation will continue under
the existing trading arrangements and from the existing GW and SB site addresses
until further notice. Pharmacists with queries about products and services should
address them to their usual GW and SB contacts.
The £114bn merger was first announced 12 months ago and was at first expected
to be completed by last summer. However, although the European Commission approved
the merger proposal in May, 2000, it took until early December, 2000, before
agreement could be reached with the United States Federal Trade Commission.
One condition of merger approval was the divestiture of products in two areas
in which the merged company would have dominated the market. One of these market
sectors is the 5-HT3 antagonist antiemetic drugs; the merged company is to retain
GW’s Zofran (ondansetron) and dispose of SB’s Kytril (granisetron). The other
problem area is antiviral drugs used in herpes simplex and varicella-zoster
infections; in this market, the new company is to retain GW’s Valtrex (valaciclovir)
and dispose of SB’s Famvir (famciclovir) and Vectavir (penciclovir). Roche is
buying the global rights to Kytril for $1.23bn and Novartis is acquiring the
global rights to Famvir and Vectavir for $400m. Under transitional arrangements,
GSK will continue to manufacture all three products under licence for three
years.
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Glaxosmithkline Plc has unveiled its new corporate identity, which consists
of the letters “gsk” in an orange shape, with the company name alongside. The
new identity is to be incorporated into all GSK materials, including packaging,
over the coming months.
GSK says that its new symbol represents a radical departure from logos and other
visual representations normally associated with the pharmaceutical industry.
It “seeks to reflect an industry leadership position and at the same time take
account of Glaxosmithkline’s strategic intent, which is to help people feel
better, do more and live longer. At a practical level, the identity aims to
convey the strength and heritage of the parent organisations, and work across
the pharmaceutical and consumer health care division of Glaxosmithkline and
its product portfolio in 160 markets around the world.”
The company has stipulated that the name Glaxosmithkline should be represented
as a single word (which the company itself spells with the “s” and “k” capitalised).
GSK has also launched a new corporate website (gsk.com).
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The value of retail sales for October, 2000, under the classification of pharmaceutical
sales, was up six points at 120.
The classification covers pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic and toilet goods
but not National Health Service receipts. The figures are based on returns made
by a number of large pharmacy chains, but exclude Boots the Chemists Ltd, which
is classified under non-specialised retail stores. The figures are compiled
by the Office for National Statistics.
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The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry says that a new edition
of its code of practice for the promotion of prescription medicines will not
now take effect until July next year.
The ABPI issued proposals for amendments to its code in July this year. The
changes related to problems that had previously arisen in interpreting the code.
However, because of the volume of comments which were received, the ABPI’s board
of management decided to postpone seeking approval for the new code from member
companies from October until April, 2001. If approved, the new code will take
effect from July 1, 2001.
Excessive hospitality Thirteen bottles of wine and 24 bottles of beer
for 15 persons has been deemed to be excessive hospitality for a promotional
meeting. Their provision has earned Wyeth Ltd a reprimand from the Prescription
Medicines Code of Practice Authority.
The reprimand followed a complaint about a poster advertising a doctors’ meeting
organised at a hospital by a representative of Lederle, a division of Wyeth.
The posters, which offered a free wine tasting and Chinese take-away (sponsored
by Lederle), had been drawn up by the president of the doctors’ mess in which
the meeting was held.
The PMCPA accepted Wyeth’s submission that an educational presentation on reflux
oesophagitis, gastritis and Helicobacter pylori eradication had taken
place and that the representative involved had not drawn up or approved the
posters in question. However, examining receipts for the meeting, the authority
said that the amount of alcohol provided was excessive.
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BASF AG has agreed to sell its pharmaceuticals division, BASF Pharma - also
known as Knoll - to Abbott Laboratories for $6.9bn (£4.7bn), the company
announced on December 15, 2000.
BASF said that it was selling the division so that it could concentrate on its
fine chemical and crop protection businesses. The money raised from the sale
would reduce the company’s debt. BASF Pharma employs over 10,000 people world-wide
and is forecast to have sales of euro2.6bn (£1.6bn) in 2000.
Abbott said that BASF Pharma was an excellent strategic fit with its existing
business, strengthening its presence in Europe and Japan and adding to its research
and development capacity.
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