GlaxoSmithKline says it has 20 potential $1 billion-a-year blockbuster drugs in its pipeline to drive future sales growth and lift it out of a lean patch for research productivity.
Europe's biggest drugmaker identified new medicines for cancer, heart disease and respiratory disorders, as well as novel vaccines, among possible winners at a long-awaited research and development meeting today.
GSK has been dogged by a reputation for a weak late-stage pipeline ever since its creation through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham three years ago.
But the company said a new research structure introduced since the merger had improved drug discovery significantly and it now expected to make a record number of drug approval filings with regulators over the next five years.
Shares in GSK, which have outperformed the sector in recent weeks ahead of the meeting, were 0.5 per cent higher at stg£13.38 by 10:30 a.m. while the DJ Stoxx European drug sector index gained 0.4 per cent.
Industry analysts said the line-up of new opportunities was impressive, though many of the most promising products were still several years away from the market.