London-based GlaxoSmithKline is the product of the 2000 merger of
two drug giants: Glaxo—which had its origins in the infant formula
business and then jumped to the top ranks of the pharmaceutical industry
on the basis of the extraordinarily popular ulcer drug Zantac—and
SmithKline Beecham, which was itself the product of a merger of a U.S.
and a British drugmaker and had a broader portfolio of drugs, including
the competing ulcer medication Tagamet and the ill-fated diabetes drug
Avandia.
In recent years, GlaxoSmithKline has become known as the
company that pays massive amounts to resolve wide-ranging charges
brought by U.S. regulators and prosecutors. These included a $750
million payment relating to the sale of adulterated products from a
facility in Puerto Rico and a record $3 billion in connection with
charges relating to illegal marketing, suppression of adverse safety
research results and overcharging government customers. The company also
set a record for the largest tax avoidance settlement with the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service.
