GlaxoSmithKline return to sales growth is held back by austerity-led price pressure
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sharp declines in drug revenues in Europe and the US as austerity-struck governments demand price cuts saw Britain's biggest pharmaceuticals group, GlaxoSmithKline, yesterday warn of flat sales this year.
It is a blow for GSK, which had set itself a target of returning to sales growth this year, after suffering the impact of patent expiries and a record-breaking mis-selling fine in the US.
But the drug maker saw sales fall 2 per cent to £6.5bn in the three months to June, mainly due to its European business, where state health budgets were slashed and revenues fell 8 per cent.
The European division also saw a 1 per cent decline in demand as generic rivals continued to eat into sales of some of GSK's blockbuster drugs.
GSK's revenues for the quarter were £200m lower than City analysts had expected and the shares dropped by 19p to 1,426p.
Its chief executive Sir Andrew Witty has been pushing for GSK to diversify away from "white pills in Western markets".
He claimed the drug maker's research and development work during the quarter had been "remarkable".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments