Glaxo’s Sales Climb in First Quarter on Pandemic Stockpiling

(Bloomberg) -- GlaxoSmithKline Plc joined drugmakers whose sales have benefited from patients’ stockpiling ahead of coronavirus lockdowns.

• Glaxo’s sales in the latest quarter surged 19% to 9.1 billion pounds ($11.3 billion), and profit gained sharply, the London-based drugmaker said Wednesday in a statement.

Key Insights

• Investors are focusing on Glaxo’s shingles vaccine, a key growth driver. Sales of Shingrix beat analysts’ estimates, even after analysts had flagged a drop in U.S. volume at the end of the quarter.
• The drugmaker is expected to provide an update on its efforts to develop coronavirus vaccines after announcing a collaboration with rival Sanofi earlier this month.
• Despite the company’s measures to respond to the pandemic “there are significant risks to business performance for the remainder of the year, and particularly over the next few months,” Glaxo said.

Market Performance

• The shares fell about 5.1% this year through Tuesday, while the Bloomberg Europe 500 Pharmaceuticals Index gained 3.5% over the same period.

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• Read more details.
• View the statement.

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