GSK continues shift in strategic direction
Under the new plans GSK will put increased focus on vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, foster a startup mentality in its R&D teams and sell branded generics in emerging markets.
These changes are intended to modernise the company, ensuring more growth with less risk, as the company seeks to appease shareholders who believe the stock has underperformed for several years.
Witty said: “GSK will seek to generate future sales growth through supplementing strength in the core small-molecule pharmaceuticals business, with new investments in fast growing areas such as vaccines and consumer healthcare and new growth areas such as biopharmaceuticals.
“At the same time, we are actively seeking to unlock the geographic potential of our different businesses, particularly in emerging economies.”
In broadening its geographical reach GSK has entered into an alliance with Aspen, a South African generic manufacturer that bought four off-patent drugs from the pharmaceutical giant earlier this month.
The collaboration gives GSK access to a portfolio of 1,200 unpatented drugs and Aspen’s low cost manufacturing capacity.
GSK plans to register some of these drugs in markets where they have not already been approved, with the first sales expected to be made in 2010. The two companies are due to meet in the coming weeks to discuss which of the drugs the pharmaceutical giant wants to market.
In striking the deal GSK has gained entry to the increasingly lucrative generics market without going down the acquisition route that other big pharma companies have.
Although the company is entering the generics market Witty was keen to stress that “the core of GSK has been and will remain pharmaceutical R&D”.
This is also being overhauled though, with Witty outlining the plans to break R&D into smaller teams that will compete for funding in a similar manner to startups.
Money will be allocated by a panel consisting of GSK research executives, venture capitalists and external advisers who will consider the performance, value creation and three-year business plans of R&D teams before giving funding.
In addition to this shift in in-house R&D policy GSK has revealed it intends to outsource 50 per cent of R&D in the future.
These revamps to the company’s R&D structure will work in conjunction with the recently revealed policy of allowing regulators and healthcare officials to comment on what products advance through development.
Through these widespread policy changes Witty is trying to create a company that is not reliant upon blockbusters but instead has a steady supply of profitable drugs in its pipeline.
