The tie-up between Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham is the UK's largest corporate merger and, as BBC News Online reports, signals a new round of consolidation in the world's pharmaceutical industry.

Drug giants merge
UK firms Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham say they will link up to become the world's biggest drugs group - but warn that job losses will be inevitable.

Drug mergers: the right medicine?

Do mergers ever work?

Culture clash: The risk of mergers

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Glaxo Wellcome: Looking for the next blockbuster
Britain's most profitable pharmaceutical company is desperately in need of a new bestselling drug to repeat the success of its Zantac ulcer treatment.

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SmithKline Beecham: From drugs to Lucozade
It's one of the world's leading makers of prescription medicines, but a hefty chunk of its profits comes from non-medical products like toothpaste and nutritional drinks.

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The merger's troubled history
The merger of SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome has been tried before - and failed after the two chief executives could not agree who would run the new company.

Drug giants scrap merger (24 Feb 1998)