5,000 staff await partnership plans

Pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer have said that it is too early to say what the implications are for their Irish staff after a partnership between the firms to create a €10.85bn consumer health division.

GSK plans to split into two businesses, one for prescription drugs and vaccines, the other for over-the-counter products, after forming the joint venture with Pfizer’s consumer health division.