Sir Richard Sykes (L), Chairman of Glaxo Wellcome shakes hands with Jean-Pierre Garnier, Chief Executive Officer elect of Smithkline Beecham following a news conference on the proposed merger of Glaxo Wellcome and Smithkline Beecham January 17. The two British companies, which tried and failed to merge two years ago, said the deal, worth £114 billion, would give the the scientific and financial clout to be the most efficient drug discovery and marketing machine in the industry.