Business

Wednesday October 14, 2009

Glaxo makes PJ its global IT hub


Centre will jointly support operations in 85 countries

PETALING JAYA: Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (Glaxo) has opened a global information technology (IT) centre here to support its operations worldwide.

The new centre would work closely with another centre in Poznan, Poland, to support IT servers, networks and applications for offices, research and development as well as manufacturing sites in 85 countries.

It will also operate on a “follow the sun” model, with local staff in the right time zones.

Chief information officer Bill Louv told a media briefing yesterday that the centre was part of the company’s “strategic priority to grow a diversified, global business”.

From left: GlaxoSmithKline director for global IT centre operations (Asia-Pacific and emerging markets) Alison Dyer, Bill Louv and Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai at the opening of the global IT centre.

The opening of the centre was witnessed by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

“We recognise where Glaxo’s business is growing rapidly,” Louv said, adding that the company had so far invested over RM11mil in the new centre and employed 130 people.

He said it planned to invest another RM60mil in the centre over the next two years.

Meanwhile, Glaxo vice-president and managing director for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, Francis S. Del Val, said the combined sales of the company’s local consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals divisions totalled about RM600mil.

He said sales in general had grown 7% annually in the region, with pharmaceutical sales boosted by the lower price of the company’s anti-cervical cancer drugs.

“We saw good response from Malaysian women after we dropped the price of the anti-cervical cancer drugs by 40% earlier this year,” Del Val told StarBiz.

He added that Malaysia, in the context of South-East Asia, was usually the number one or two market in terms of sales for Glaxo.

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