The demerger of GSK's OTC business is now complete. New company Haleon was formally launched as as independent consumer healthcare company on July 18 with a listing on the London and New York stock exchanges. 

The newly listed business, with a portfolio of brands including Sensodyne, Voltarol and Panadol, stated its purpose as "delivering better everyday health with humanity" but said it will "continue to develop category leading brands that address real consumer health needs, while focusing on future innovation across its entire portfolio".

The company said it was launching at a time when the consumer healthcare market is set for expansion and it expects to deliver better than the market expectation of 3-4 per cent per annum over the medium-term with annual organic revenue growth of 4-6 per cent.

It said its competitive advantage lies in its "leading consumer healthcare-focused scientific capabilities, a well-developed organisational understanding of human health behaviours, strong capabilities in brand building, innovation and digital commerce and a powerful route-to-market".

Tess Player, vice-president global head of expert/health professionals commented: "The arrival of Haleon heralds a new opportunity to tackle some of the big global challenges standing in the way of better everyday health.

"Partnering with health professionals is a top priority and we’ll work tirelessly to support them in solving these challenges and giving excluded groups access to them in ways they historically haven’t had."