LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said onWednesday it expected to start to regain market share inrespiratory medicine after weak demand for lung drug Advairagain hurt fourth-quarter sales, capping a rough year forBritain's top drugmaker.
GSK is also banking on an asset swap with Novartis to help revive its fortunes, and looking to unlock value byfloating its HIV unit ViiV Healthcare. It has hired three banksto advise on ViiV options, according to people familiar with thematter.
Chief Executive Andrew Witty is under pressure after failingto deliver on earlier promises to return the drugmaker togrowth.
The company expects continued adverse "headwinds" in thefirst half of 2015 but a stronger performance in the second halfof the year.
GSK is buying vaccines, selling cancer drugs and forming aconsumer health joint venture with Novartis in a $20-billiontransaction designed to ensure more stable and predictablelong-term growth. The deal is due to close in the first half of2015.
Investors, however, are worried about short-term pressure onthe 15-year-old inhaled medicine Advair due to competition fromrival products and falling prices, as well as the slow uptake ofGSK's new respiratory drugs Breo and Anoro.
Quarterly sales were 6.19 billion pounds ($9.42 billion),down 8 percent from a year earlier. Core earnings per share --the measure followed most closely by investors -- were down 6percent at 27.3 pence.
Analysts, on average, had forecast sales of 6.2 billionpounds and core EPS, which excludes certain items, of 25.9pence, according to Thomson Reuters.
($1 = 0.6573 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler)