Sykes Resigning as Chair of GlaxoSmithKline, World’s Largest Manufacturer of AIDS Drugs
Richard Sykes announced yesterday that he will resign as chair of GlaxoSmithKline, the world's largest drug company, the London Daily Telegraph reports. Sykes was instrumental in bringing about Glaxo's 1995 acquisition of Wellcome, which created the world's largest provider of antiretroviral drugs (Murray-West, Daily Telegraph, 3/12). GSK now produces the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors Retrovir (zidovudine), Epivir (lamivudine), Ziagen (abacavir), Combivir (a combination of zidovudine and lamivudine) and Trizivir (a combination of zidovudine, lamivudine and abacavir) and the protease inhibitor Agenerase (amprenavir) (FDA release, 2/19). Sykes said in a statement yesterday that he feels it is "the right time to depart" after having overseen Glaxo Wellcome's successful merger with SmithKline Beecham at the end of 2000, and he will now devote more time to his job as rector of
Imperial College in the United Kingdom (GSK
release, 3/11). Sykes -- who will be succeeded by Christopher Hogg, chair of the media conglomerate Reuters Group PLC and the beverage company Allied Domecq PLC -- will relinquish his post after the company's annual meeting on May 20 (AP/Raleigh News and Observer, 3/11).
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