Chinese Practices? - Glaxo Sparks Fury Over Sign-On Bonus Demand

By Mark Kleinman, City EditorGlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain’s biggest drugs company, has sparked fury among some of its biggest suppliers by demanding ‘bonus’ payments to continue working with the group.Sky News understands that GSK has asked hundreds of marketing services agencies to agree to rebates for work already undertaken and for future activity, as well as a ‘sign-on bonus’ to be readmitted to its roster of preferred suppliers.The drugs giant, which owns brands such as Aquafresh, Nicorette and Sensodyne, is run by Sir Andrew Witty, one of David Cameron’s closest business advisers.Its request for a retrospective rebate is particularly unusual for a multinational company of the scale of GSK, particularly at a time when the treatment of small and medium-sized business (SME) suppliers is under much closer scrutiny.“The demands are naked profit-chasing. They are outrageous,” said one.According to a request for information circulated among international suppliers in recent weeks, GSK asked parties:“If your agency has performed work for GSK in 2013, please provide a [percentage] rebate for the 2013 global annual spend by GSK. For all future GSK annual £ spend levels, please provide a percentage rebate. All agencies must complete this question.“If selected to be a part of the GSK Global Digital Roster, please indicate a one-time sign-on bonus you will offer GlaxoSmithKline (in GBP).”The rebate and payment demands come at a sensitive time for GSK, which ...
Source: PharmaGossip - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs