GSK Chairman Hampton to step down

(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc Chairman Philip Hampton will step down after more than three and a half years in the role, Britain's biggest drugmaker announced on Monday.

The announcement comes a month after GSK's Chief Executive Emma Walmsley announced her boldest plans yet - to split the company into two businesses -- one for prescription drugs and vaccines, the other for over-the-counter products.

Walmsley, who took the helm in 2017, announced in December that GSK and Pfizer would combine their consumer health businesses in a joint venture with sales of 9.8 billion pounds ($12.7 billion), 68 percent-owned by the British company, in an all-equity transaction.

"Following the announcement of our deal with Pfizer and the intended separation of the new consumer business, I believe this is the right moment to step down and allow a new Chair to oversee this process through to its conclusion over the next few years," Hampton said in a statement.

Before joining GSK, Hampton was chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and J Sainsbury plc .

GSK, which is looking to buy early-stage assets and partner with companies, said it had started the search for a successor.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)