GSK R&D chief admits to lack of late-stage assets

Hal Barron, the man brought in this year to advance and build GlaxoSmithKline’s (LSE: GSK) pipeline as the UK pharma major targets a new era of growth, has hinted that the company has work to do to in R&D to catch up with its peers.

Dr Barron, who in a former role was responsible for the combined portfolio of Roche (ROG: SIX) and its highly innovative Genentech unit, was speaking at the Financial Times Global Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Conference.

Like many pharma companies, GSK is facing the need to replace revenues that will soon be lost following patent expiries, in particular when competitors start to take market share from its blockbuster lung drug Advair/Seretide (salmeterol/fluticasone).