By Cecilia Butini

GlaxoSmithKline PLC on Friday said that the company's board supports the actions being taken by Chief Executive Emma Walmsley in response to a letter sent by activist investor Elliott Management Corp. calling for board changes ahead of a planned separation of its businesses.

The British pharma company said the board believes Ms. Walmsley to be the right leader for New GSK --the remainder of the company's activities after the planned spinoff of its Consumer Health division-- and that it fully expects the team to deliver a step change in performance and long-term shareholder value.

It added that the board would evaluate any alternative options for the Consumer Healthcare that may arise, after Elliott called for the company to consider a sale of the business.

Elliott criticized GlaxoSmithKline's "poor record of execution and value creation" in a letter published Thursday and urged the company's board to appoint nonexecutive directors with biopharma and consumer-healthcare expertise ahead of the separation. It also pushed the company to consider internal and external candidates for running its businesses.

GlaxoSmithKline said in its response that it has conducted an extensive search process to appoint a chief executive designate for Consumer Healthcare, and that this process is now nearing completion.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 02, 2021 06:32 ET (10:32 GMT)

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