Executive Ernest Mario Resigns in Glaxo Shake-Up
Ernest Mario, the chief executive of Glaxo Holdings, Europe’s largest drug company, resigned Thursday in a shake-up of management stemming from problems that the company refused to discuss.
Richard Sykes, who previously served as Glaxo’s group research and development director, was named to replace Mario.
Speculation was rife that Mario’s departure was prompted by Glaxo’s ongoing dispute with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over Zantac, the world’s best-selling drug.
Zantac, an anti-ulcer medicine, contributes 44% of Glaxo’s annual sales, which exceed $6 billion, and an estimated 30% of its profit.
But a company spokesman said the shake-up was “definitely not” related to the FDA’s complaints that Glaxo made erroneous claims about Zantac’s effectiveness.
“There was a cumulative realization that things had not worked out, and we would best part ways,” the Glaxo spokesman said.
“It was a whole variety of things,” he said, declining to elaborate.
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