GSK leaves Kenya 4 months after exiting Nigeria 

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a global pharmaceutical company that was in Nigeria until 4 months ago has announced that it is now leaving Kenya too. 

When GSK left Nigeria in August, it was due to the crippling economic situation of the company and now, with the look of things and the news flying around, it is having the same problem with the Kenyan economy. Also, it is starting to look like the drugs and vaccine company will restructure globally since the distributor-led model that was adopted for Nigeria is about to be implemented in Kenya too. 

"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." GSK said. 

GSK suggested that the Nairobi Industrial Area plant will continue operating under the company's independent affiliate, Haleon. A Kenyan news source also reported that this consumer healthcare venture focuses on items such as Sensodyne and Panadol.

Reportedly, five months ago, GSK separated its consumer healthcare division and established it as a separate entity named Haleon, to concentrate more on the profitable prescription drugs and vaccines sector. This move was part of their strategic shift, highlighting brands like Augmentin, Zentel, and Ventolin.

When GSK exited Nigeria, there might have been speculations that Kenya would have to suffer the same fate. This assessment of the operations in Kenya is happening five years after the pharmaceutical company announced that it was reducing its presence in Africa. 

It was after this announcement that the company stopped distributing medicines to healthcare professionals in 29 sub-Saharan African markets, yet it maintained local operations in Kenya and Nigeria and kept representative offices in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

In Kenya, GSK has significantly influenced healthcare through its medications for malaria, and HIV/AIDS, as well as antibiotics like Augmentin and Panadol. Also, the pharmaceutical company introduced the innovative malaria vaccine, Mosquirix, which was tested in Kenya last year, intending to reduce fatalities, particularly among children.

Now that GSK Kenya has to go, it is disheartening and the low sales happening in the company have left the company with no choice but to move out. 

For more news/stories like this, sign up on our website. Also, you may want to follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Hub for Jobs

Twitter: @hubforjobs

Instagram: @hubforjobs