An Examination of Glaxosmithkline Performance in Society

Despite the GlaxoSmithKline’s strict internal rules of zero tolerance for corrupt practices and bribery. In 2012, GSK pleaded guilty to illegally promoting a number of its prescription medication, inadequately reporting safety data, and false price reporting practices in the United States. To resolve the case, in 2012, GSK pay the largest health care fraud in the U.S. history of $3 billion in fines (Office of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, 2012).

This paper will explore how recent pharmaceutical developments and policy changes have created one significant barrier to cure: high price and cost.

In this paper I will be responding to an article by Richard Anderson, business reporter for the BBC NEWS, titled “Pharmaceutical Industry Gets High On Fat Profits.” In Anderson’s article, the most interesting topics are how some drugs can really help and even save lives, how pharmaceutical companies have been accused of some corruptions, and how there is controversy surrounding profiting of drug companies. Overall, I learned a great deal from this article.

What has been the financial performance of AstraZeneca over the last three years, and how does this compare to a company in the same industry?

Research and development teams will have to identify what is important to the stakeholders and develop products that have value for the stakeholders. If the company does not have the resources or capabilities to develop the products that stakeholders value, acquisitions must be made. Companies will need strong marketing and sales departments that will be able to develop messages that are targeted at all of the stakeholders, not just patients and physicians. The marketing and sales department must develop strategic messages that contain strong economic and clinical value messages instead of feature and benefits messages that are currently used. Since biopharmaceutical companies tend to use product differentiation as strategy to offer unique value, instead of cost, it might be necessary for them to develop partnerships with companies that provide patient support and resources to add value to their

Who are the stakeholders in this case? Which are primary, and which are secondary? What influence do they have?

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, but it would not have been in this position if the company did not have the right values of being patient focus. Being patient focused has allowed GlaxoSmithKline to be in the position where it is today of providing lifesaving medication to people like Betty. Betty suffers from COPD, but thanks to GlaxoSmithKline’s medication she is able to live a normal life. What motivates me on a daily basis is knowing that I made a difference. Being able to join the GlaxoSmithKline will allow me to be able to join a company that makes a difference in the world.

In studying Merck’s strength in the industry, we selected GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AstraZeneca (AZ), two established companies, as benchmarks to determine Merck’s competitiveness.

The pharmaceutical industry is a highly competitive business and its success depends on the sales and marketing of each particular drug. But more recently, there have been a rise in issues relating to the rapid growth of pharmaceutical use, spending for drugs and related concerns about drug prices, among many other issues relating to scandal with vaccinations. The pharmaceutical industry may have their issues, but there has been a lot of good to come from this industry when it comes to one’s health.

Introduction AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca, AZN:NYSE, AZN:LSE) is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and UK’s Zeneca Group plc. Core Activities AstraZeneca is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and biological products for important areas of healthcare: Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, Infection, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Respiratory and Inflammation. One of the key benefits of the merger between Astra and Zeneca is seen as their portfolio of new products in development: AstraZeneca call this their 'product pipeline'.

GSK is the 2nd largest pharmaceutical firm in the world, and the largest in the UK by sales and profits, it is responsible for 7% of the worlds pharmaceutical market, and has its stocks listed both in UK and US (O 'Rourke, 2002). The origin of the so called blockbuster model, is partly linked with Glaxo (as it was previously known). In the early 80’s, then Glaxo brought to light their first blockbuster drug, Zantac, which was an anti-ulcer drug, which was very similar to the a pre existing drug Tagamet (first ever blockbuster) sold by Smith Kline & French, their completion at the time (MONTALBAN and SAKINÇ, 2011). The introduction of this drug, brought about an increasing sales force in the US, the company soon became dependent on the drug, because it represented a large part of their profit. In 2002, 8 blockbusters of GSK contributed to $14.240 million sales revenue, taking up 53% of its total ethical sales (Froud et al 2006). However, due to the nature of the pharmaceutical industry, the patent began to expire, in other to avoid the patent cliff, Glaxo merged with Wellcome in 1995, which ensured a growing number of sales force, and with Beecham in 2000 (Froud et al., 2006) this merger, boosted the confidence of investors, by growing the business inorganically. For Big Pharma, this block buster model is very profitable, because with the high cost of R&D, the drugs are able to generate ample profit, to cover the sunk costs

A movement to "evidence- based" medicine may result in the consideration of over-all cost-effectiveness of drug product in policy and coverage decisions. Therefore, acquisition cost as sole criteria for drug choice may recede in importance in policy decisions by financiers of health care.

Strategic Management deals with identification of goals and objectives of a company by its top management and implementation of activities and processes to coordinate with the resource of the company with mission, vision and strategy of the overall company (Frigo and Anderson, 2012; pp. 51-68). This report is about the strategic management of the GlaxoSmithKline company ltd, one of the largest manufacturing companies in United Kingdom. GlaxoSmithKline company’s management strategy has been critically analyzed here through the company has become a large revenue earning company in the world. GlaxoSmithKline company ltd (GSK) is a British Multinational healthcare company which research and develop products in three primary fields such as Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare.

GlaxoSmithKline has been heavily reliant on its blockbuster Advair asthma medicine for 14 years ever since the product’s launch to deliver a strong revenue stream. Yet, the company’s CEO Sir Andrew Witty, though having been accused by some of failing to replenish the drug portfolio, staunchly adopts the diversification strategy for future development. GSK is set on tapping rising demand for healthcare from billions of

This is a strategic analysis of GlaxoSmithKline that examines the key factors that influence the company and its activities. The strategic analysis will examine key factors in the company’s internal and external environment and their influence on the company’s strategies. GlaxoSmithKline is a global healthcare company that offers pharmaceutical, vaccines and consumer products. The company is a product of various mergers, the latest occurring in 2001 between GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company started in London United Kingdom in 1715 as Plough Court pharmacy and has evolved to become one of the leading global healthcare companies. The healthcare company operates in more than 150 countries with 89 manufacturing locations and research centers in the USA, China, UK and Belgium. In 2015, the company’s sales grew to £23.9 billion from £23.0 billion in 2014 (GlaxoSmithKline plc. 2015).