GSK sets out stall for new R&D operation; cull of pipeline still to come

At its inaugural R&D meeting for analysts on February 22 (see alsoMarketletter February 26), GlaxoSmithKline's chief executive, Jean-Pierre Garnier, gave details of the strategy which the company will adopt as it copes with a near-term gap in the pipeline and the R&D productivity and patent expiry problems facing the entire pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Garner, who described the GSK pipeline on several occasions as "awesome," said that the company would nevertheless still need to pursue an aggressive in-licensing strategy to support its anticipated growth in the future. The cost of in-licensing drugs is going up, but GSK is trying to reduce this cost burden by partnering projects which are not in late-stage development. The nine projects in-licensed by the firm in the last year (see table 1), which compares favorably with other firms which often only license two or three a year, illustrate this strategy.

This sentiment was echoed by GSK's chairman for R&D, Tachi Yamada, who noted that with 117 drugs in clinical trials and 161 in development, "there will be considerable culling" of projects in order to focus the company's R&D resources.