GlaxoSmithKline is eliminating an undisclosed number of research and development jobs in Research Triangle Park.

The job losses are part of reductions in GSK's Neurosciences Medicine Development Center. 

The total job cuts in the U.S. are fewer than 50 with less than half of those located in RTP, said Melinda Stubbee, a spokeswoman.

The rest of the cuts are at various clinical trial sites in the U.S., but not at the company's R&D facilities in the Philadelphia area.

GSK empoys about 4,000 people in RTP.

The company made an internal announcement about the job cuts on Monday.

At least one major Triangle employer will allow workers to switch their health coverage if Aetna's contract with the UNC Health Care System is terminated next week.

GlaxoSmithKline, which employs about 5,000 people in this region, has told workers who are signed up for Aetna coverage that they can transfer to a similar health plan offered by UnitedHealthcare. Employees chose between Aetna and United for their coverage last fall, said GSK spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne.

"Health insurance is an important benefit for our employees," she said. "The company doesn't want them to have any disruption."

The move by GSK could increase pressure on Aetna to settle its contract dispute with UNC Health. The insurer doesn't want to lose members, and has been working to coordinate care with other local physicians and hospitals.

GlaxoSmithKline wants to improve its image.

The drug maker is working harder to operate with integrity and transparency, said Deirdre Connelly, president of North American Pharmaceuticals, in a speech at a Washington conference on Monday.

"In some ways our industry lost its way, and failed to fully appreciate the evolving expectations of our stakeholders," Connelly said, according to prepared remarks GSK made available.

"Some of it is because industry bashing is good politics. Some it it is because we still make mistakes," she said. "No matter the reasons, at the end of the day, we must regain the public's trust in our industry."

GSK has been tarnished recently by a series of problems.

GlaxoSmithKline will take a fourth-quarter charge of $3.4 billion to cover various legal costs related to its controversial diabetes drug Avandia and other products.

The British company, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park, announced today that it will take the charge as it continues to settle lawsuits tied to Avandia, which has been linked to increase risk of heart attacks.

The charge also is tied to costs related to an investigation by the U.S. attorney in Colorado into the company’s U.S. sales and promotional practices of certain products.

GlaxoSmithKline will buy a Chinese pharmaceutical company for about $70 million, a small deal that reinforces GSK's efforts to expand in important emerging markets.

Buying Nanjing MeiRui Pharma will give GSK new urology drugs and a manufacturing facility in China. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, GSK announced this morning.

GSK, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park and about 5,000 local employees, is seeking other deals to boost its business in fast-growing emerging markets, including India.

One of the Triangle's most experienced pharmaceutical industry executives will join Elan Corp. as chairman of the Irish biotechnology company's board.

Robert Ingram has joined Elan's board and will replace Kyran McLaughlin as chairman on Jan. 26, the company announced this morning.

"I look forward to working with the Board and the management team to deliver long term benefits to science, patients and shareholders," Ingram said in a prepared statement.

Ingram was CEO of Glaxo and later vice chairman of GlaxoSmithKline. Since January, Ingram also has worked as an advisor to GSK Chief Executive Andrew Witty. The British pharmaceutical giant has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park.

Ingram, who turns 68 today, was traveling and didn't return calls seeking comment.

Federal regulators, which were scheduled to issue a decision on a new drug to treat lupus next week, have delayed their decision until March.

The drug, known as Benlysta, would be the first new treatment for the autoimmune disease in more than 50 years. It also would provide a needed boost for its developers, Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline.

But that boost will be delayed, in a disappointment for the companies and investors.

The Food and Drug Administration has pushed back its review of the drug until March 10, the companies announced this afternoon. The FDA was scheduled to rule on Dec. 9, but requested more information on the drug.

GlaxoSmithKline is in talks to buy a Chinese drug company to expand its exposure in that fast-growing market, according to media reports.

The British company expects to announce a deal to acquire Nanjing MeiRui Pharma Co. as soon as this month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

The price tag is likely to be modest, about $100 million, Reuters reported.

But the small deal highlights a large imperative for GSK and the other big, global pharmaceutical companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Drug companies are facing flat to negative sales trends in the U.S. and Europe, forcing them to look to emerging markets for growth.

GlaxoSmithKline announced plans to sell a penicillin manufacturing facility in Bristol, Tenn., to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, one of India's largest drug makers.

GSK also will sell the U.S. rights for popular antibiotics Augmentin and Amoxil to Dr. Reddy's. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

GSK will retain the rights to the antibiotics outside of the United States.  Augmentin had global sales of $1 billion in 2009.

The British company, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park, is trying to boost revenue and cut costs. It faces lower reimbursements from government health programs in the U.S. and Europe, and increasing competition from cheaper generic medicines.

GlaxoSmithKline's best-selling asthma drug Advair is proving tough to copy by generic rivals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That challenge could allow GSK, the British drug maker with its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park, to protect Advair even after its loses patent protection next year.

Typically, losing such protection opens the door for cheaper copycat versions and hurts sales. But Advair combines two drugs in a fine powder that's inhaled through an intricate device called a Diskus.

Generic-drug makers Teva Pharmececeutical and Sandoz, a subsidiary of Novartis, have each recruited GSK to help develop a generic rival, the newspaper reports. The difficulty represents a challenge for generics companies, trying to replicate increasingly complex drugs.