GSK plc is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, which was itself a merger of a number of pharmaceutical companies around the Smith, Kline & French firm.
Sir Richard Brook Sykes is a British microbiologist, the chair of the Royal Institution, the UK Stem Cell Foundation, and the trustees at King Edward VII's Hospital, and chancellor of Brunel University. As of June 2021, he is chair of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, where he is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including preparations for booster programmes and encouraging vaccine innovation in the UK.
Cefazolin, also known as cefazoline and cephazolin, is a first-generation cephalosporin antibiotic used for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. Specifically it is used to treat cellulitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, endocarditis, joint infection, and biliary tract infections. It is also used to prevent group B streptococcal disease around the time of delivery and before surgery. It is typically given by injection into a muscle or vein.
Cefuroxime, sold under the brand name Zinacef among others, is a second-generation cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat and prevent a number of bacterial infections. These include pneumonia, meningitis, otitis media, sepsis, urinary tract infections, and Lyme disease. It is used by mouth or by injection into a vein or muscle.
Furazolidone is a nitrofuran antibacterial agent and monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). It is marketed by Roberts Laboratories under the brand name Furoxone and by GlaxoSmithKline as Dependal-M.
Cefuroxime axetil, sold under the brand name Ceftin among others, is a second generation oral cephalosporin antibiotic.
Ticarcillin is a carboxypenicillin. It can be sold and used in combination with clavulanate as ticarcillin/clavulanic acid. Because it is a penicillin, it also falls within the larger class of β-lactam antibiotics. Its main clinical use is as an injectable antibiotic for the treatment of Gram-negative bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris. It is also one of the few antibiotics capable of treating Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections.
ViroPharma Incorporated was a pharmaceutical company that developed and sold drugs that addressed serious diseases treated by physician specialists and in hospital settings. The company focused on product development activities on viruses and human disease, including those caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. It was purchased by Shire in 2013, with Shire paying around $4.2 billion for the company in a deal that was finalized in January 2014. ViroPharma was a member of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the S&P 600.
Oxacillin is a narrow-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotic of the penicillin class developed by Beecham.
Topoisomerase inhibitors are chemical compounds that block the action of topoisomerases, which are broken into two broad subtypes: type I topoisomerases (TopI) and type II topoisomerases (TopII). Topoisomerase plays important roles in cellular reproduction and DNA organization, as they mediate the cleavage of single and double stranded DNA to relax supercoils, untangle catenanes, and condense chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Topoisomerase inhibitors influence these essential cellular processes. Some topoisomerase inhibitors prevent topoisomerases from performing DNA strand breaks while others, deemed topoisomerase poisons, associate with topoisomerase-DNA complexes and prevent the re-ligation step of the topoisomerase mechanism. These topoisomerase-DNA-inhibitor complexes are cytotoxic agents, as the un-repaired single- and double stranded DNA breaks they cause can lead to apoptosis and cell death. Because of this ability to induce apoptosis, topoisomerase inhibitors have gained interest as therapeutics against infectious and cancerous cells.
Retapamulin is a topical antibiotic developed by GlaxoSmithKline. It is the first drug in the new class of pleuromutilin antibiotics to be approved for human use. It is marketed as an ointment under the brand names Altabax and Altargo.
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Founded by Thomas Beecham who opened the first factory in St Helens, Lancashire in 1859, Beecham focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business. In August 1859 he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, which helped the business become a global brand.
Sir Andrew Philip Witty is a British business executive, who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealth Group. He was the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline between 2008 and 2017. He formerly held the role of chancellor of the University of Nottingham.
The pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan was estimated to be worth Rs. 748 billion (US$2.6 billion) in 2023, representing about 1% of the country's GDP. The industry is largely import-dependent, with more than 90% of raw material being imported and only 12% of APIs locally produced. Pakistani pharmaceutical companies are engaged in importing raw materials, compounding APIs with excipients, coating of pills, and fill-finish activities. The industry is regulated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, which oversees drug approvals and pricing.
Pharmaceutical fraud is when pharmaceutical companies engage in illegal, fraudulent activities to the detriment of patients and/or insurers. Examples include counterfeit drugs that do not contain the active ingredient, false claims in packaging and marketing, suppression of negative information regarding the efficacy or safety of the drug, and violating pricing regulations.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea, has developed antibiotic resistance to many antibiotics. The bacteria was first identified in 1879.
Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, or co-ticarclav, is a combination antibiotic consisting of ticarcillin, a β-lactam antibiotic, and clavulanic acid, a β-lactamase inhibitor. This combination results in an antibiotic with an increased spectrum of action and restored efficacy against ticarcillin-resistant bacteria that produce certain β-lactamases.
Ozanezumab is a monoclonal antibody designed for the treatment of ALS and multiple sclerosis.
Wellcome Research Laboratories was a site in Beckenham, south-east London, that was a main research centre for pharmaceuticals. Until 1965, this laboratory site was situated in Kent.
Zoliflodacin is an experimental antibiotic that is being studied for the treatment of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea). It has a novel mechanism of action which involves inhibition of bacterial type II topoisomerases. Zoliflodacin is being developed by Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics, and the drug has demonstrated clinical efficacy equivalent to ceftriaxone in Phase III clinical trials.
