BMAN33000 GlaxoSKcasestudy-1.docVIP

BMAN33000: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Case Study The case pack This case pack provides you with: Information on the global pharmaceutical industry, in which GSK is a key player An introduction to GSK and its development A timeline that identifies key events for GSK up to the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham in 2000 Tables which provide background on the characteristics of the industry In week 5 you will also be given a spreadsheet with tables on Glaxo Smithkline (GSK) which provide financial data on GSK from 1980 to 2008. Please note the following about the company tables: The company financial data refers to Glaxo for the period 1980-1994, to Glaxo Wellcome from 1995 to 1999 and to GSK from 2000. The operating data has been taken from hard copy accounts rather than the Thompson OneBanker database because the TOB data is hugely inaccurate in this particular case. However it is OK to use TOB for share price data, where the information is accurate. Because the company data covers more than 20 years, the tables include financial data expressed in real 2008 prices where data has been adjusted for inflation using the RPI index which inflates all values to 2008 levels. This allows comparisons over the long term, removing the effects of general price inflation. The case pack is intended as a concise introduction to the company and its industry, and provides background empirical data to get you started. You should start by reading through the case, which will give you some ideas about the focus of your additional research and the issues that you need to investigate in order to address the exam questions. The most useful sources of information are likely to be: The business press (eg Financial Times, Economist, Business Week). The John Rylands University Library electronic databases allow you to search newspapers (search under individual title eg FT, Economist). Analyst reports. Again these can be accessed via John Rylands database using Investext Plu