Essay Sample on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Products

Introduction

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is considered to be among the global companies which are leading in pharmaceutical research. The organization performs the role of discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products which are mainly used in sustaining human health [1]. Besides pharmaceutical products, the company also focuses on producing consumer healthcare products. The pharmaceutical segment of the company also issues out prescriptions of vaccines and pharmaceuticals. The Consumer Healthcare section of the company provides Oral Healthcare, OTC medicines, and Nutritional healthcare.

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The company has its own headquarter at the United Kingdom (UK). There are additional operational headquarters of the company in the United States [1]. The company also maintains its global presence through setting up its branches in over 160 countries. The major countries which the company has its major interests are the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom [3]. The company has also employed over 103000 individuals. Overall, the company is among the Top 6 world pharmaceutical companies which primarily focus on Novartis, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sanofi-Aventis [7]. The broad range of products which the company manufactures are anti-malarial, tuberculosis drugs, Anti-retroviral for the management of HIV/AIDS, Pentosam which treats leishmaniasis and also Zentel which is a drug employed in deworming and preventing lymphatic filariasis.

Mission, Strategy, and Vision

The mission of the company assists individuals to live longer, feel better and engage in more social, economic and political engagements [11]. The company also focuses on delivering its three significant areas of priority with an aim of cumulative growth, decreasing risks and refining its lasting financial performance. The significances include providing more value products; glowing a steady international business, and simplifying the operating model. The company also operates responsibly and also works on ensuring that its values are entrenched in the company's culture and decision making - these assists the company to meet the society's expectations. The company's vision is also concerned with offering the chance to make a difference to millions of lives, daily [11]. The strategy of the company involves growing a stable business, delivering more valuable products, simplifying the operational model and also offering responsible business.

History of GlaxoSmithKline

Glaxo Welcome Plc. merged with Smith Kline Beecham Plc. in December 2000 to form GlaxoSmithKline plc. (GSK) [3]. The merger led to the emergence of a world's largest pharmaceutical and drug manufacturer which also engages in pharmaceutical-based research. The history of the company begins in London in 1715 when Silvanus Bevan set up a plough court pharmacy. It is this pharmacy that later became Allen and Hanburys Ltd. John Smith also set up a pharmacy in Philadelphia in 1830. His brother, George joined him in 1841 where they formed a new business with the name, John K. Smith and Co. The company later became Smith and Shoemaker. The company hired Mahlon Kline as its accountant in 1865. Joseph Nathan also established the parent company of Glaxo in 1873 in Wellington, New Zeeland [3].

Beecham, on the other hand, established an international patent medicine company in 1847. During this period, there were few companies which engaged in these products beyond their immediate communities [3]. Thomas Beecham hawked his pills across Wigan and surrounding countryside. It is this company that grew to become Beecham Research Laboratories Ltd in 1943. During this period, the company employed over 115 individuals, where 34 were graduate-level scientists. The company engaged in researching food products and pharmaceuticals before embarking seriously on pharmaceutical research [4].

SmithKline BioScience assimilated it's one of the largest competitors, International Clinical Laboratories Inc. in 1988. The acquisition made the company to become the global industry leader. In 1989, two companies, The Beecham Group Plc. and SmithKline Beecham merged to be SmithKline Beecham plc. SmithKline Beecham acquired Diversified Pharmaceutical Services Inc. in 1994 [8]. The acquisition made Beecham be the third largest companies which provide over-the-counter medicine in the world. The company also emerged at the top in Europe and the international markets which focused on human and animal healthcare.

The company embraced the merger between Glaxo and Wellcome in 1995 which led to the formation of GlaxoWellcome. The new company, Glaxo Wellcome managed to acquire Polfa Poznan. The acquisition made the company be considered as the largest pharmaceutical company in Poland. The company decided to start focusing on consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals in 1999 [6]. Concerning this, SmithKline Beecham dissociated itself from SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories and Diversified Pharmaceutical Services [3]. It is at this point that GlaxoSmithKline was formed in 2000 after a merger between SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome. The formed GlaxoSmithKline Company became a public limited company where the owners traded ordinary shares in New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and American Depository Shares [3].

A section of the company's shareholders prefers using a proactive company approach which helps in solve the health challenges in developing countries. Among the largest shareholders of the company is Pharmaceutical Shareholders Group which is a London-based chain of large institutional investors. Since the merger in 2000 which established the company, the company has managed to continue growing as an innovative institution which works to produce branded products [9]. It is this situation that has facilitated the growth of the company to reach the milestone.

Concerning the company's growth since its inception, GSK Company managed to hold the second position in 2003 in the pharmaceutical industry, where it enjoyed a share of 6.9%. In the same year, the company also had a market share of over 20% of respiratory treatments, 13% anti-infectives and about 10% of CNS drugs [11].

GlaxoSmithKline Products

The company manufactures an extensive range of vaccines, medicine, and customer healthcare products. The category of the drugs which the company produces includes prescription medicine of particular importance in the developing world, medicines, vaccines, consumer healthcare products, Stiefel Dermatology, and ViiV Healthcare [12].

Medicine of Special Importance in the Developing World

GlaxoSmithKline Company manufactures a variety of products which are given special significance in the developing countries. The pharmaceutical products include anti-malarial, vaccines, Tuberculosis drugs, Pentosam (helps in treating Leishmaniasis), Anti-retroviral for the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS and lastly, Zentel which is a deworming product. The generic name of the product is Albendazole which GSK donates as part of the lymphatic filariasis elimination campaign [12]. The company complies with patent policies which protect its drugs and vaccines. However, the patent policies do not cover Zentel (albendazole) and Tuberculosis drugs.

Anti-malarial

GlaxoSmithKline manufactures a wide range of anti-malarial. These products include amodiaquine, chloroquine, and sulphadoxine. The latest malaria drugs are Malarone which treats malaria, Halfan which treats chloroquine-resistant malaria, and lapdap which is a treatment of malaria in situations where old therapies fail as a result of increased resistance [3].

Anti-retroviral

These are drugs which are used to manage and treat HIV and AIDS. The range of drugs includes prolonged therapy which consists of an integration of various ARVs. GlaxoSmithKline Company is among the largest global providers of anti-retroviral. Some of the variety of anti-retroviral drugs is Retrovir, Lexiva, Trizivir, Ziagen, Combivir, Epivir among others. There are notably increased sales of ARVs across the world due to the widespread of the disease [3] [9]. The company is holding a large share in the supply of the drug across the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and the least developed countries.

Prescription Medicines

The company produces a variety of prescription medicines which range from A-Z. Examples of prescription medicines include Adartel, Altabax, Altargo, Amoxil, Anoro Elipta, Augmentin, Bactroban, Benylsta, Bexxar, Dyazide, Duodart, Dermovate among others [13].

Vaccines

The company manufactures a different range of vaccines depending on the targeted audience. The range of products in this category includes children and infants, travelers, adolescents and adults, and other adults. The childhood vaccines protect children against infections such as meningitis, measles, and pneumonia. The vaccines are also essential in developing the immune systems of children and infants [13]. The impact of the vaccines is visible in the society since the vaccines have managed to prevent close to between 2-3 million childhood deaths annually. The adolescents and adults medicines perform the function of weakening immunity from infant vaccinations and lifestyle changes. For instance, it is at this stage that the individuals join colleges, join the military, and conceive. The situations subject the individuals to be at risk of infectious diseases. The company focuses on developing medications which treat HPV and Meningitis [10].

Consumer Healthcare Products

The range of consumer health products assists in treating human discomforts such as colds, sensitive teeth, joint pain, and flu. The company prides itself in being a leading consumer healthcare company which develops and markets some of the best products and brands in the market.

In oral health, some of the products which the company manufactures include Polident, Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Paradontax, and Biotene. The company also produces over the counter respiratory medicine such as Theraflu, Nicorette, Nicotinell, Otrivin, and Contac [13]. These are majorly leading brands in flu and cold, allergy, decongestant and smoking cessation. The company also provides pain relieving products such as Voltaren, Fenbid, Excedrin and Panadol. These are important in reducing inflammation, relieving pain to restore comfort to millions of people. The company also provides nutritious hot beverages and stomach soothing supplements such as Horlicks, Eno and Actal Tums. The company provides skin products such as Abreva, Lamisil, Zovirax, Fenistil, and Physiogel [13]. Dermatologists mostly re...