Last checked at 
* Over-the-counter products division, Shingrix sales beat
* Does not anticipate significant delays to drug approvals
(Recasts with details on stockpiling, executive comments)
By Pushkala Aripaka and Ludwig Burger
April 29 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline beat quarterly
profit expectations on rising sales of its blockbuster shingles
vaccine and strong demand for pain and respiratory medicines
during the coronavirus pandemic.
The maker of Advil and Panadol painkillers on Wednesday
joined AstraZeneca and other large pharmaceuticals
companies in sticking to or even raising full-year forecasts as
lockdowns to combat the spread of the virus lead to stockpiling
of medicines and other essentials.
The British company said sales from its over-the-counter
products business jumped 44% to 2.86 billion pounds ($3.55
billion), surpassing the 2.78 billion pounds expected by
analysts.
GSK's lung drugs and HIV medications businesses also
reported growth, with respiratory sales coming in at 871 million
pounds and HIV at 1.21 billion pounds - also beating
expectations.
That boost, however, may not last long.
Consumption levels for its consumer business in China, where
the outbreak originated, was returning to pre-crisis levels as
the situation slowly gets back to normal in the country, Chief
Executive Emma Walmsley said.
GSK also highlighted the challenges it faces during the
pandemic, pointing to stalls in manufacturing and the supply
chain and restrictions in its ability to conduct clinical
trials.
Drugmakers and healthcare regulators worldwide are having to
pause existing trials and reviews because of safety measures to
protect participants and as they divert funds and research into
potential COVID-19 treatments.
GSK, however, said it does not anticipate any significant
delays to regulatory approvals due to the pandemic at this time.
GSK has struck a deal with Sanofi develop a
coronavirus vaccine and Walmsley said the global push to develop
an immunisation against the coronavirus would not lead to widely
available products before the second half of next year.
The British drugmaker's turnover rose 19% to 9.09 billion
pounds ($11.26 billion) in the first quarter to March from a
year earlier, as sales of its shingles vaccine, Shingrix,
exceeded expectations by 23%.
The vaccine has been a major growth driver for GSK, but it
is expected to level at some point because the capacity of
existing manufacturing sites, which cannot be expanded until
2024, will soon be exhausted.
"We do see some slowing of vaccination rates at the moment
as healthcare workers come under pressure, but the underlying
demand (for Shingrix) is strong and we would expect to see some
resurgence of that," Walmsley said.
"The relevance of vaccines has never been more important."
While GSK pointed to the uncertainty around the pandemic and
said it was unable to gauge its ultimate impact on the company,
GSK still expects a 1% to 4% fall in profit for the year. This
compares with analysts' prediction of a 7.2% drop.
First-quarter adjusted earnings of 37.7 pence per share beat
analysts' expectation of 31.5 pence, according to a
company-compiled consensus https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/analyst-consensus/analyst-consensus,
while sales were predicted to come in at 8.75 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.8052 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and
Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt
Editing by Supriya Kurane and Louise Heavens)
