GSK readies its much-anticipated 3-year review for DPUs

In one of the most anticipated R&D events of the year, GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) execs are readying a summary judgment on the results of the first three-year round of results for their closely-watched Discovery Performance Units. But anyone looking for a dramatic corporate response at this stage of the game is likely to be disappointed.

Just about every major news outlet in the world that covers GSK has been trying to find out exactly how those DPUs performed. GSK garnered plenty of attention when it decided to regroup its R&D empire into smaller, more biotech-like organizations. Dogged by poor productivity, R&D chief Moncef Slaoui and CEO Andrew Witty determined this was their best shot at getting the investigators to understand they had some skin in the game, and get their best efforts.

Now that GSK is readying a review of its annual results tomorrow, though, it's becoming increasingly clear that while some of the DPUs may not fare as well as others, anyone looking at this as the opening of a new chapter on its restructuring is likely to be disappointed. As The Telegraph notes, some investigators may get reassigned in the new accounting, but no major upheavals are expected.

The Telegraph also notes that while some DPUs may not be funded going forward, GSK is likely to leave its multibillion-dollar budget flat for the year ahead.

- here's the story from The Telegraph