GSK announced that Luke Miels, the company’s chief commercial officer, will take over as CEO on January 1, replacing Emma Walmsley, who has led the drugmaker since 2017. Walmsley’s tenure included the spinoff of GSK’s consumer health care business into a new firm called Haleon and a focus on innovative medicines that could fuel its growth, particularly in specialty drugs and vaccines. However, investor confidence has been shaky, as GSK faces the impending loss of patent protection on its established HIV franchise and ongoing challenges within its vaccine business. The company has seen its shares stagnate over the past year, prompting a search for Walmsley’s successor that considered both internal and external candidates.
AstraZeneca plans to start listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange while maintaining its London listing, a strategic move aimed at enhancing accessibility for investors in its largest market. This decision, however, underscores a troubling trend for the U.K. market, which has seen several companies shift their listings to New York amid ongoing criticisms of the country’s drug-pricing policies. AstraZeneca’s actions reflect broader concerns within the pharmaceutical industry regarding the commercial environment in the U.K., as the company has already reduced some investments and engaged in disputes over pricing and access for its breast cancer drug Enhertu. This shift to the NYSE may complicate investment for some, as the firm has previously offered American depositary receipts on Nasdaq, which are less straightforward than the ordinary shares it now intends to trade in New York.
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