Just In : GSK Quits Kenya After Nigeria Exit
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a British pharmaceutical multinational, has withdrawn from Kenya, following its departure from Nigeria four months ago, signaling a broader global restructuring of its business model.
The company, known for producing prescription drugs and vaccines, is transitioning to a distributor-led model for supplying the country, mirroring a similar approach adopted in Nigeria in August.
While GSK has exited its direct operations in Kenya, it has indicated that the Nairobi Industrial Area plant will continue to operate under GSK’s stand-alone affiliate, Haleon. This consumer healthcare venture, dealing in products such as Sensodyne and Panadol, is set to manage operations in Kenya.
In a strategic move in July, GSK spun off its consumer healthcare business, listing it separately as Haleon, as part of a restructuring effort to focus on the more lucrative prescription drugs and vaccines business, featuring brands like Augmentin, Zentel, and Ventolin.
“The production facility in Kenya is a Haleon facility, and is not the subject of the update that GSK gave in Kenya this week,” GSK said.
“We announced that for our GSK business, we would move to a direct distribution model. This means that instead of having a GSK commercial operation in the country we will supply our medicines and vaccines through a third party.”
The departure of GSK is part of the company’s broader efforts to revamp its global business structure, which included the spin-off of its consumer health unit.
GSK had declined a £50 billion bid from Unilever for the unit at the end of the previous year, arguing that the offer undervalued the company.
The reassessment of operations in Kenya comes almost five years after GSK announced a reduction in operations across Africa. During this restructuring, GSK ceased marketing medicines to healthcare professionals in 29 sub-Saharan African markets but continued local operations in Kenya and Nigeria, maintaining representative offices in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
In Kenya, GSK has left a significant impact with its drugs for malaria, HIV/AIDS, and antibiotics like Augmentin and Panadol. The pharmaceutical company introduced the groundbreaking malaria vaccine, Mosquirix, piloted in Kenya last year, with the goal of reducing deaths, particularly among children.
GSK’s exit follows lackluster sales performance for several regional multinational pharmaceutical companies, facing competition from more affordable generics from India and locally manufactured medicines.
