Our history
New Zealand roots
Many companies with great histories have combined over the years to make the leading global research and manufacturing organisation that is GlaxoSmithKline. The Glaxo in the name traces its history to the colonial New Zealand of 1873. Local entrepreneur Joseph Nathan established a trading company in Wellington that was a forerunner to Glaxo’s milk powder drying operation at Bunnythorpe, Manawatu.
This is just part of a history that includes Nobel Prize-winning researchers, business luminaries and social visionaries from innovative companies like Allen & Hanbury’s, Burroughs Wellcome, Beecham Laboratories and Smith-Kline & French.
History timeline 
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