GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceuticals news

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty said in the pharma's 2012 earnings that the pharma will restructure its European pharmaceuticals business because of a "sustained shift we have witnessed in the European reimbursement and pricing environment." On a conference call to discuss the earnings, Witty declined to provide details, but said the restructuring will include headcount reductions and eliminating overlap, particularly in SG&A. He added that GSK is looking at "bigger, broader strategic solutions" to reduce costs in Europe, improve efficiencies and "reallocate resources to support identified growth opportunities." Additionally, Witty said GSK is planning to simplify its supply chain processes and expand the group's manufacturing and R&D capabilities. On the manufacturing front, GSK said plans include a move towards continuous process manufacture and a shift to enzymatic reactions from synthetic chemical reactions. The pharma expects the changes to save at least £1 billion ($1.6 billion) annually in pre-tax savings by 2016.

Separately, GSK became the first pharma to publicly support the AllTrials campaign, which is calling for the disclosure of clinical trial results and clinical study reports to increase trial transparency. GSK, which in October committed to release anonymized patient-level data, said in a statement that it will also now make publicly available clinical trial reports - which are formal reports that provide details on the design, methods and results of trials and may also form the basis of regulatory applications - for all of its drugs once they have been approved or discontinued from development and the results have been published. GSK said it also plans to make reports available for clinical outcomes trials for all of its approved drugs dating back to the company's formation, with priority to its most commonly prescribed drugs (see BioCentury, Oct. 15, 2012). ...