GSK statement: Court of First Instance judgement

27th September 2006, London, UK - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acknowledges the judgement issued today by the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (CFI) regarding the GSK Spanish pricing scheme, which was notified to the Commission in 1998.

GlaxoSmithKline welcomes the CFI’s judgement that the Commission’s analysis of GSK’s scheme was invalid, in part, and is pleased that the CFI has recognised that the pharmaceutical sector has specific characteristics, unlike other sectors, which the Commission should have taken into account.

GSK supports the CFI’s conclusion that the Commission has not carried out an adequate examination of GSK’s request for an exemption under Article 81 (3); and that the Commission’s Decision has therefore been annulled with respect to the denial of an exemption for GSK’s scheme. The Company also welcomes the CFI’s decision to annul the Commission’s Decision to ban GSK from continuing to implement the Scheme, on the basis that an exemption cannot be precluded.

The Judgement itself will have no immediate impact on GSK’s operations in Europe, as the scheme was only implemented in Spainfor a short time. GSK continues to believe that parallel trade in the context of the pharmaceutical industry, where prices are directly or indirectly controlled by EU Governments, serves only to benefit parallel traders.

The Company will now study the full text of the Judgement, in detail, and assess any next steps that may be taken.

GlaxoSmithKline — one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies — is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

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