GlaxoSmithKline has no immediate plans to spin off an HIV drug company created in 2009 with Pfizer, though it is “open-minded” about the unit’s long-term position, GSK’s chief executive said Thursday.
“There’s nothing in the short term that we’ve got planned. We’re very happy with what we’ve got at the moment and we’re focused on making it work,” Andrew Witty told reporters after the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Speculation that the two drugmakers might launch an initial public offering (IPO) for their ViiV Healthcare business -- which is 85 percent owned by GSK -- has increased recently as new Pfizer boss Ian Read considers divesting some operations.
