Glaxo Shifts Gears to Fire Up Growth With Rival Astra Closing In

To understand why Emma Walmsley has replaced almost half of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s key executives in the past year, look no farther than the rear-view mirror. Glaxo has long held the title of Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company, but with its shares sliding it now risks being overtaken in market value by AstraZeneca Plc.

Astra Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, a maverick with a strong appetite for risk, is winning over investors with an emphasis on research and a stable of new cancer drugs. Walmsley, a seven-year veteran of Glaxo who took over the company’s top job last April, faces a potential slowdown in the company’s HIV business, waning sales of its biggest treatment — asthma drug Advair — and concerns she will cut the dividend.