Glaxo Forecasts Weaker Profit as Research Costs Grow

(Bloomberg) -- GlaxoSmithKline Plc expects profit to fall this year as the U.K. drugmaker increases research spending in pursuit of the next blockbusters.

• Earnings per share, excluding some costs, are expected to decline by a mid- to high-single digit percentage, Glaxo said on Wednesday. Glaxo shares fell as much as 4.7%.

Key Insights:

• Sales of Shingrix, the company's biggest product, fell short of analyst estimates in the latest quarter.
• The drugmaker is expected to provide more detail about a Covid-19 vaccine collaboration with Germany's CureVac NV announced Wednesday. The two plan to create messenger RNA shots against variants of the coronavirus.
• Investors also will look for an update on a range of partnerships with companies including Sanofi, Medicago Inc. and China's Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. to create Covid-19 vaccines or possible antibody treatments.
• Glaxo is planning to more than double the number of blockbuster drugs in its portfolio by 2026.

Market Performance

• The shares have risen 1.9% this year through Tuesday, while the Bloomberg Europe 500 Pharmaceuticals Index gained 0.9%.

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