Record shingles jab sales record a shot in the arm for GSK

GSK boss Dame Emma Walmsley was hit in the arm after record sales of its shingles vaccine boosted profits.

Also for 2023, the pharmaceutical giant predicted strong growth despite declining sales of its Covid treatments.

For 2022, GSK reported a profit of £8.2 billion, up 26 per cent year-on-year, with revenue up 19 per cent to £29.3 billion.

The numbers were boosted by sales of the shingles vaccine Shingrix, up 72 per cent in the year to a record £3 billion thanks to strong demand in the US and Europe.

Double-digit growth was recorded in sales of medicines for diseases such as HIV.

GSK forecasts profit growth of 10 to 12 percent for 2023 with revenue growth of 6 percent to 8 percent.

“2022 was a landmark year for GSK and delivered the step change in performance we committed to… We are entering 2023 with good momentum, supporting confidence in our ambitious sales and earnings outlook,” said Walmsley.

Shares fell 0.3 percent, or 3.8p, to 1419.6p. It’s GSK’s first full-year results since Haleon, maker of Sensodyne toothpaste, split into a separate company last year to focus on vaccines and new drugs.

Some activist investors said it should have been sold and questioned Walmsley’s competence.

GSK has nabbed several drug developers and is racing to get regulatory approval for a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, a common cold that can cause severe symptoms in infants and older adults.

It competes against U.S. rivals Pfizer and Moderna to be the first with a jab, with the market estimated to be worth billions.

Walmsley said life sciences in the UK were at a tipping point and the ‘right decisions’ needed to be made urgently to ensure they continued to drive growth, adding: ‘Doing it right is what will ensure that there will continue to be investment in the UK and not only from GSK, which remains committed to this country, but also from other multinationals.’