Glaxo Plans To Cut Costs To Offset Weak Sales

LONDON (Reuters) — GlaxoSmithKline plans to cut costs in its struggling European drugs division and promised investors a return to growth this year, after failing to deliver a hoped-for recovery in sales and profits in 2012.

The company, Britain’s biggest drug maker, said on Wednesday that a new program to restructure European operations, drug manufacturing and research would save at least about $1.6 billion annually by 2016.

After putting a number of major drug patent losses behind it, Glaxo had originally banked on pulling out of its trough in 2012. In the event, sales were held back by larger-than-expected drug price cuts in austerity-hit Europe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/business/after-posting-lower-profit-glaxo-to-cut-costs.html?ref=business&_r=0