An animal rights extremist group had already written to
shareholders of the pharmaceutical giant, demanding they sell any
shares they hold in the company within two weeks. The Financial
Times reports that the letters came from the Campaign Against
Huntington Life Sciences.
Glaxo approached the police and wrote to its shareholders to
reassure them.
Glaxo's letter also urged shareholders to keep the extremists'
letter, together with its original envelope, in a safe place for
collection by the police. "Minimise any handling of the letter and
envelope and be careful not to overwrite or cause indentations," it
wrote.
It also offered shareholders wishing to protect their privacy
the opportunity of transferring their shares, free of charge, into
a nominee account.
It added: "For ethical, regulatory and scientific reasons,
research using animals remains a small but vital part of the
research and development of new medicines and vaccines. Animals are
only used where no alternative is available and our scientists
constantly strive to reduce the numbers used. We aim to exceed
industry standards in the care and welfare of the animals it
uses."
