GlaxoSmithKline today became the latest pharma major to announce a shake up of its research activities alongside annual results, joining the likes of AstraZeneca and Pfizer, all of which have displayed a new willingness to take the knife to previously sacrosanct R&D budgets.

There is no doubt that big pharma’s productivity needs improving – outside of vaccines the last blockbuster Glaxo launched was the ill-fated diabetes pill Avandia in 1999, although a couple of recent launches are forecast to just about top the magical $1bn mark in a few years time. Today, the company revealed some areas it plans to focus on in an attempt to improve this productivity, whilst singling out others to exit, news that could prompt a couple of partners, namely Neurocrine Biosciences, NeuroSearch and possibly Actelion, to shift nervously (see table below).