GSK shareholders protest at AGM

Shareholders of the UK's leading drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline, protested on two fronts at the firm's annual general meeting, which also saw Jean-Pierre Garnier pass the chief executive's baton to Andrew Witty.

Around 20% of GSK stockholders, representing 29% of the total stock, withheld votes approving the firm's remuneration plan. This was particularly with respect to a one-off award to former head of pharmaceutical Chris Viehbacher of stock worth around L2.5 million ($3.9 million), after he failed to be elected CEO. The other complaint was the group's share price. Although under Mr Garnier's stewardship GSK's profits have grown from L5.3 billion to L7.5 billion, and it now has 35 drugs in late-stage development versus two when he took over, the firm's share price has plummeted more than 30%, despite millions of pounds of share buybacks. Questioned at the meeting, Mr Garnier also ruled out an acquisition of UK rival AstraZeneca.