SIR Richard Sykes is stepping down as chairman of the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

The 59-year old said he intends to retire at Glaxo's annual meeting in May to devote more time to his role as Rector of London's Imperial College.

He will be succeeded by current non-executive director Sir Christopher Hogg, who is also non-executive chairman at Reuters and Allied Domecq.

Sir Richard played a key part in the merger of Glaxo-Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham two years ago.

He also led Glaxo's acquisition of Wellcome in 1995, which came two years after he was appointed chief executive at the company.

He said: "Having overseen the successful merger of GlaxoSmithKline and as I approach my 60th birthday in August, I feel now is the right time to depart. I wish to devote more time and energy to my role as Rector of Imperial College and leave GlaxoSmithKline in great shape for the future."

Sir Richard took a non-executive chairman's role when the merger was completed and last year received a salary of £300,000, and 6,000 shares.

Glaxo is currently planning to axe 400 jobs from its 1,500-strong workforce at its Barnard Castle, County Durham, plant. A task force has been established to help find alternative employment for those losing their jobs.

The task force, which includes County Durham Development Company, Teesdale Enterprise Agency, Teesdale District Council and Bishop Auckland Technical College, meets once a month.

The task force is expected to issue a report by the end of this month. In February, GlaxoSmithKline revealed a 12 per cent increase in group profits to £6.2bn.