GlaxoSmithKline “leads the way”

As Tachi Yamada leaves his position as head of research as GlaxoSmithKline, some analysts argue that the company is now at the forefront of drug discovery.

Jo Walton, an analyst with Lehman Brothers who studies drug development, told the Financial Times (FT) that GlaxoSmithKline’s Centres of Excellence for Drug Discovery (CEDDs) used to generate “a lot of whining”. However, she now states: “I don’t hear any complaints today. GSK is leading the way”.

Mr Yamada echoes this statement, arguing that “2002 was the nadir” but that now “various consultants tell me that every company is looking at our model”.

This attitude is also shared by Wood Mackenzie analyst Jane Kidd, who highlights the strength of GlaxoSmithKline’s development pipeline.

However, the FT also reports that in the future the company may use external partners for its research and development. It quotes Mr Yamada as stating GlaxoSmithKline could delegate 50 per cent of the research and development work to externally-based scientists.

GlaxoSmithKline was formed in 2000 following a merger between GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beecham and states that it is the “only pharmaceutical company to tackle the three ‘priority’ diseases identified by the World Health Organization: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria”.

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