[8] In 2012, under prosecution by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) based on combined investigations of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), FDA and FBI, primarily concerning sales and marketing of the drugs Avandia, Paxil and Wellbutrin, GSK pleaded guilty to promotion of drugs for unapproved uses, failure to report safety data and kickbacks to physicians in the United States and agreed to pay a US$3 billion (£1.9bn) settlement.

Alex Sayf Cummings of Georgia State University wrote in 2016, that the "iconic building helped define the image of RTP," saying, "Love it or hate it, Rudolph's design remains an impressively audacious creative gesture and an important part of the history of both architecture and Research Triangle Park.

[17] Glaxo Wellcome restructured its R&D operation that year, cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide, closing its R&D facility in Beckenham, Kent, and opening a Medicines Research Centre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

[32] It employed 59,000 people, including 13,400 in the UK, had 76 operating companies and 50 manufacturing facilities worldwide, and seven of its products were among the world's top 50 best-selling pharmaceuticals.

[41] In 2006, GSK acquired the US-based consumer healthcare company CNS Inc., whose products included Breathe Right nasal strips and FiberChoice dietary supplements, for US$566 million in cash.

[55] In 2013, GSK acquired Human Genome Sciences (HGS) for US$3 billion; the companies had collaborated on developing the lupus drug Belimumab (Benlysta), albiglutide for type 2 diabetes, and darapladib for atherosclerosis,[56] and in September, sold its beverage division to Suntory.

[67] In November 2018, Reuters reported that Unilever was in prime position to acquire GSK's interest in its Indian unit, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd, in a sale that could generate around US$4 billion for the company.

The deal will give GSK control of ovarian cancer treatment, Zejula - a member of the class of poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors.

[76] The culmination of the Consumer Healthcare string of deals will result in GSK splitting into two separate companies, via a demerger and subsequent listing of the joint venture.

[83] In February 2024, the company acquired Aiolos Bio for over $1 billion, adding to its existing asthma business through AIO-001 a long-acting monoclonal antibody that targets the thymic stromal lymphopoietin cytokine.

[96] Among these, albendazole, amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, allopurinol, mercaptopurine, mupirocin, pyrimethamine, ranitidine, thioguanine, trimethoprim, and zidovudine are on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

Since 2010, GlaxoSmithKline has several times ranked first among pharmaceutical companies on the Global Access to Medicines Index, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

[128] GSK has largely had an access strategy, providing medicines at a subsidized price to lower and middle income markets including Africa under the former CEO Andrew Witty.

In 2017, its new CEO, Emma Walmsley,[129] shifted away from this with GSK exiting all Sub-Saharan African markets and there being no plans to provide its newer expensive oncology and genetics pipeline to this population.

Carter & Co from the 1930s, the company's unbranded syrup was distributed to children as a source of vitamin C during World War II, which gave the drink a reputation as good for health.

[136] In 2001, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) required GSK to withdraw its claim that Ribena Toothkind, a lower-sugar variety, did not encourage tooth decay.

[142] In February 2011, The Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) concluded that there is a clear connection between the Pandemrix vaccination campaign of 2009 and 2010, and the narcolepsy epidemic in Finland.

[147] In July 2012, GSK pleaded guilty in the United States to criminal charges, and agreed to pay US$3 billion, in what was the largest settlement until then between the Justice Department and a drug company.

[9] The charges stemmed from GSK's promotion of the anti-depressants Paxil (paroxetine) and Wellbutrin (bupropion) for unapproved uses from 1998 to 2003, specifically as suitable for patients under the age of 18, and from its failure to report safety data about Avandia (rosiglitazone), both in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Other drugs promoted for unapproved uses were two inhalers, Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol) and Flovent (fluticasone propionate), as well as Zofran (ondansetron), Imitrex (sumatriptan), Lotronex (alosetron) and Valtrex (valaciclovir).

There were all-expenses-paid spa treatments and hunting trips for doctors and their spouses, speakers' fees at conferences, and payment for articles ghostwritten by the company and placed by physicians in medical journals.

[153] Two GSK meta-analyses in 2005, and 2006, showed an increased risk of cardiovascular problems with rosiglitazone; the information was passed to the FDA and posted on the company website, but not otherwise published.

[9] An internal SmithKline Beecham document said in 1998, about withheld data from two GSK studies: "It would be commercially unacceptable to include a statement that [pediatric] efficacy had not been demonstrated, as this would undermine the profile of paroxetine.

"[166][168] The company ghostwrote an article, published in 2001, in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, that misreported the results of one of its clinical trials, Study 329.

In 2001, 35 patients filed a class-action suit alleging they had had withdrawal symptoms, and in 2002, a Los Angeles court issued an injunction preventing GSK from advertising that the drug was not habit forming.

[176] Chinese authorities arrested four GSK executives as part of a four-month investigation into claims that doctors were bribed with cash and sexual favours.

Mark Reilly, the British head of GSK's Chinese operations, received a three-year suspended prison sentence after a one-day trial held in secret.

[187] The SFO said it was collaborating with Chinese authorities to investigate bringing charges in the UK related to GSK's activities in China, Europe and the Middle East.

Although GSK suspended clinical trials, advertising, and promotion in Russia, the company has maintained its supply of essential medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment, with proceeds reportedly directed towards humanitarian aid.

Critics argue that GSK's decision to continue exporting products—resulting in increased sales and profit volumes in 2022 compared to 2021—undermines the intended impact of sanctions, raising ethical concerns.