Wednesday, July 28, 2004

GSK'S SECOND-QUARTER PROFIT, NET INCOME DOWN

GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported a 13 percent decline in earnings during the second quarter of 2004 due to generic competition and a weak dollar.

Second-quarter 2004 pre-tax profit on a statutory basis was approximately $2.97 billion, or $0.37 per share, down from approximately $3.42 billion, or $0.44 per share, in the same quarter of last year.

Net income dropped from approximately $2.42 billion, or $0.41 per share, in the second quarter of 2003 to $2.11 billion, or $0.37 per share, in the latest quarter.

GSK attributed the overall decrease in profit to a weak U.S. dollar as well as increased generic health care brand name competition in the United States for antidepressants Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride) and Wellbutrin (bupropion hydrochloride).

Worldwide sales of asthma drug Advair Diskus (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol xinafoate) increased 22 percent to approximately $1.10 billion in the second quarter of 2004. Worldwide sales of diabetes drugs Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate) and Avandamet (metformin hydrochloride and rosiglitazone maleate) increased 59 percent to approximately $559.3 million.

Shares of GSK closed at $40.40, up $0.59, or 1.5 percent, in moderate trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Friday, April 23, 2004

GSK'S ADVAIR DISKUS 100/50 MCG APPROVED FOR USE AMONG PEDIATRIC PATIENTS

The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Advair Diskus 100/50 micrograms (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation power) as a long-term maintenance treatment for patients aged 4 to 11 years who have asthma and are symptomatic on inhaled corticosteroid therapy alone.

Advair, which contains an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta2-agonist, is designed to treat airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction. It is the only long-term preventative product that treats the two main components of asthma--airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction, according to GSK.

The product's safety profile was evaluated in 203 patients aged 4 to 11 years who had symptomatic asthma on low-dose inhaled corticosteroid. Twice-daily Advair 100/50 had a safety profile similar to that of twice-daily fluticasone propionate 100 mcg.

In addition, patients aged between 6 and 11 years who received Advair and those who received fluticasone propionate experienced improved lung function--measured by forced expiratory volume in one second--over the course of the study.

Advair has been available since April 2001 as a twice-daily, long-term maintenance treatment of asthma for patients aged 12 years or older.

Friday, August 15, 2003

IN BRIEF: THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

The Food and Drug Administration said it will add new warnings to products containing salmeterol, a long-acting bronchodilator used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, after a small, but significant risk of life-threatening asthma episodes or asthma-related deaths was observed in patients taking the drug. GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Serevent inhalation aerosol, Serevent Diskus and Advair Diskus will be affected by the label changes.