The Zagreb research center of the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will continue operations, with certain restructuring in individual projects throughout this year, as reported by GSK Croatia.
"The Zagreb Research Center is a separate business unit and is in no way connected to GlaxoSmithKline, which conducts drug registration and marketing activities. The restructuring and changes in the operations of the Research Center will not in any way affect the operations of GlaxoSmithKline d.o.o. nor the availability of GSK drugs to Croatian patients," emphasize GSK Croatia. GSK announced during the release of its 2009 business results the cessation of research in certain areas of neuroscience in which GSK was active, including depression and pain. In this context, the company’s management proposed changes within the organizational structure of research and development of new drugs, which will be most visible in the reduction of the number of research projects.
These changes, as announced, will affect the operations of research centers in Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Croatia. GlaxoSmithKline is one of the leading global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. The Zagreb research center of GSK was purchased from Pliva in 2006. At that time, GSK took control of the assets that were Pliva’s intellectual property and all 130 employees of the Institute. The building of the Institute remained in Pliva’s ownership, and GSK rented part of the space in the building. The then management of Pliva emphasized that after the sale of most proprietary business in the USA and the Research Institute in Zagreb, it successfully achieved its strategic goal of exiting proprietary business and announced a shift towards generic business. (H)
