Glaxo blockbuster set for £1bn in sales

GLAXOSMITHKLINE said roaring demand for its shingles vaccine will see sales of the blockbuster drug exceed £1bn this year.

Shingrix sales hit £357m in the first three months of 2019, smashing analysts’ predictions of £249m.

Emma Walmsley, the British drugs giant’s boss, said the ‘fantastic’ performance had helped Glaxo’s vaccines business to post a 20pc rise in revenues. But the bonanza came as it revealed its free cash flow had halved to £165m.

That was partly due to Glaxo’s once-popular Advair inhalers losing market share to copycat products, after patents expired.

The company’s net debt soared to £27bn – up from £13.4bn a year ago – after its £9bn takeover of its joint consumer healthcare venture with Novartis, and its £3.9bn takeover of US cancer drugs firm Tesaro. That sent shares in Glaxo down 0.9pc, or 13.6p, to 1559.8p.