GSK Looks to Change High Drug Price Model

May 7, 2015

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty told analysts that the company's future plans post-multibillion-dollar Novartis asset swap do not involve relying on high-priced drugs.

GSK will instead use a realistic pricing strategy and focus more on volume, especially in consumer health and vaccines divisions. As healthcare needs grow and patients' ability to pay declines, Witty says GSK needs to "focus less on the 600 million people in the U.S. and Western Europe and more on the six-billion-plus people in the rest of the world."

Rather than the traditional blockbuster model, Witty stressed an overall strategy involving a broader range of drugs generating profit, vaccines with more consistent demand and fewer competitors, and steady OTC products. 

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