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The maker of products such as Panadol, Sensodyne and Voltaren will focus on everyday consumer health following its demerger from GSK.
Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has spun off its consumer health unit, with the new standalone business Haleon beginning trading this morning (18 July).
The company is now one of the world’s biggest standalone consumer health businesses, making well-known products such as Panadol, Sensodyne and Voltaren. It employs more than 22,000 people across 170 markets
According to The Guardian, Haleon began trading on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of about £31bn, making it the largest European listing of the decade. The previous largest listing was in 2011, when multinational commodity trading and mining company Glencore entered the stock market with a value of £38bn.
GSK, which was one of several pharma giants to work on a Covid-19 vaccine, will now focus on vaccines and speciality pharmaceuticals.
Haleon said it will continue to develop brands that address real consumer health needs, while focusing on future innovation across its entire portfolio.
Haleon’s CEO, Brian McNamara, said the demerger is “a significant milestone” for the company.
“Consumer health has never been more important than it is today and I am delighted that Haleon, as an independent company, is ready to pursue our ambitions,” he said.
Haleon employs more than 930 people in Ireland, the majority of which are at a manufacturing facility in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
This is one of the largest manufacturing sites in Haleon’s consumer health network, producing 9bn Panadol tablets and 131m tubes of Poligrip for global supply to more than 70 markets.
Haleon’s country manager for Ireland, Dave Barrett, said he “couldn’t be more delighted” about the spin-off milestone.
“We are incredibly excited about what the future holds for Haleon in Ireland and globally as we have set out ambitious growth targets which we are very confident of delivering thanks to the incredibly talented and committed team we have in Ireland,” he added.
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