Descrição

Glaxo is one of the world’s most successful pharmaceutical companies. It is also one of the oldest. This is the history of both a major business and of a multi-disciplinary scientific organisation. Although Glaxo began as a pioneering merchants business in Wellington, New Zealand, during the 1870s, diversification led the company to become the UK’s leading manufacturer of powdered t milk. imaginative sales techniques employed by Alec Nathan gave Glaxo the resources to enter the novel field of vitamins. Having launched its first pharmaceutical product, Ostelin, in 1924, Glaxo played a key role during World War Two making penicillin for the D-Day assault. An acknowledged producer of antibiotics, the company found great commercial and pharmaceutical success with Ventolin, designed to treat asthma, and its anti-ulcer medicine Zantac, which became the highest-selling prescription medicine in history. Selling the traditional food business to concentrate on the discovery of novel medicines, Glaxo’s management was restructured to maximise the full potential of its global marketing network. Through growth and mergers and through harnessing scientific and medical discoveries, Glaxo became one of the most successful companies in the world.