<PAGE>

   As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 5, 1997

                                                     Registration No. 333-
==============================================================================
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                  ---------

                                   FORM S-8
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                  ---------

                       GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION
            (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

            Delaware                                     65-0403311
(State or Other Jurisdiction of                (I.R.S. Employer Identification
of Incorporation or Organization)                          Number)

                          Castor & Kensington Avenues
                       Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124
              (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

          GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION 1995 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                           (Full Title of the Plan)

                                  ---------

                               MAX L. MENDELSOHN
                       GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION
                          Castor & Kensington Avenues
                       Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124
                    (Name and Address of Agent for Service)

  Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service: (215) 289-2220


            Copies of all communications, including all communications sent to
the agent for service, should be sent to:

                                  ---------

                           SHELDON G. NUSSBAUM, ESQ.
                          Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
                               666 Fifth Avenue
                           New York, New York 10103
                                (212) 318-3000

                                  ---------

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Proposed Maximum           Proposed Maximum
Title Of Securities To Be           Amount To Be              Offering Price Per         Aggregate Offering        Amount Of
Registered                          Registered                Share(1)                   Price(1)                  Registration Fee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                   <C>                       <C>                         <C>                       <C>    
Common Stock, $.01 par                550,000 shares            $3.968                      $2,182,812.50              $643.93
value
===================================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  The price is estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h)(1) under the
     Securities Act of 1933, as amended, solely for the purpose of calculating
     the registration fee, based on the average of the high and low prices of
     the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market on December 4, 
     1997.


==============================================================================
<PAGE>



                                    PART I

                    INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS


     The document(s) containing the information called for in Part I of Form
S-8 will be sent or given to individuals awarded options under the Global
Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock Incentive Plan adopted by Global
Pharmaceutical Corporation and is not being filed with or included in this
Form S-8 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.



                                      -1-

<PAGE>



                                    PART II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT


Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference

     The following documents filed by Global Pharmaceutical Corporation (the
"Company") are incorporated herein by reference:

          (i)  The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year
               ended December 31, 1996.

          (ii) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended March 31, 1997.

          (iii) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended June 30, 1997.

          (iv) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended September 30, 1997.

          (v)  The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
               Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the
               Securities and Exchange Commission on December 8, 1995 as
               amended on December 14, 1995 and as amended on December 5, 1997.

     In addition to the foregoing, all documents subsequently filed by the
Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment
indicating that all of the securities offered hereunder have been sold or
deregistering all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a
document incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be
deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration
Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded
shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part
of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities

     Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

     Not applicable.



                                     II-1


<PAGE>



Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     The Company is a Delaware corporation, subject to the applicable
indemnification provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware (the "DGCL"). Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a Delaware corporation
to indemnify, subject to the standards therein prescribed, any person in
connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought or threatened by reason
of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent
of the corporation or was serving as such with respect to another corporation
or other entity at the request of such corporation.

     In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, the Company's Restated
Certificate of Incorporation (the "Certificate") provides that a director of
the Company shall not be personally liable to the Company or its stockholders
for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for
liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the Company
or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith, (iii)
arising from payment of dividends or approval of a stock purchase in violation
of Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the
director derived any improper personal benefit. While the Certificate provides
protection from awards for monetary damages for breaches of the duty of care,
it does not eliminate the director's duty of care. Accordingly, the
Certificate will not affect the availability of equitable remedies, such as an
injunction, based on a director's breach of the duty of care. The provisions
of the Certificate described above apply to officers of the Company only if
they are directors of the Company and are acting in their capacity as
directors, and does not apply to officers of the Company who are not
directors.

     The Company's By-Laws contain provisions that require the Company to
indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by
Delaware law. Under the DGCL, directors and officers as well as employees and
individuals may be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys' fees),
judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with specified
actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation as a
derivative action) if they act in good faith and in a manner they reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and
with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
believe their conduct was unlawful.

     The Company has purchased a directors and officers insurance policy under
which each director and certain officers of the Company are insured against
certain liabilities.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed

     Not Applicable.



                                     II-2


<PAGE>



Item 8. Exhibits

          4.1  -- Global Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock Incentive Plan,
                  as amended

          4.2  -- Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement

          4.3  -- Form of Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement

          4.4  -- Form of Non Statutory Stock Option Agreement for Eligible
                  Directors

          4.5  -- Certificate of the Designations, Powers, Preferences and
                  Rights of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of Global
                  Pharmaceutical Corporation

          4.6  -- Certificate of the Designations, Powers, Preferences and
                  Rights of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock of Global
                  Pharmaceutical Corporation

          5    -- Opinion of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

          23.1 -- Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.

          23.2 -- Consent of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (included in Exhibit
                  5).

          24   -- Power of Attorney (included in signature page).


Item 9. Undertakings

          (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to:

               (1) File, during any period in which offers or sales are being
               made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement
               to:

                    (i) Include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                    the Securities Act of 1933;

                    (ii) Reflect in the prospectus any facts or events which,
                    individually or together, represent a fundamental change
                    in the information in the registration statement.
                    Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
                    volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
                    securities offered would not exceed that which was
                    registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of
                    the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in
                    the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant
                    to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
                    and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the
                    maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
                    "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective
                    registration statement;


                                     II-3

<PAGE>




                    (iii) Include any additional or changed material
                    information on the plan of distribution;

               provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
               not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form
               S-8, and the information required to be included in a
               post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in
               periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by
               the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
               Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by
               reference in the registration statement.

                          (2) For determining liability under the Securities
                          Act of 1933, treat each post-effective amendment as
                          a new registration statement of the securities
                          offered, and the offering of the securities at that
                          time to be the initial bona fide offering.

                          (3) File a post-effective amendment to remove from
                          registration any of the securities that remain
                          unsold at the end of the offering.

               (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
               purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
               of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant
               to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
               Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee
               benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
               Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by
               reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a
               new registration statement relating to the securities offered
               therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
               be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

               (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under
               the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors,
               officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to
               the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
               advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
               Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
               expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
               unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
               against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
               registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer
               or controlling person of the registrant in the successful
               defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
               director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in
               connection with the securities being registered, the registrant
               will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
               settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
               appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
               indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in
               the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final
               adjudication of such issue.


                                     II-4


<PAGE>



                                  SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania
on the 4th day of December, 1997.

                                                 GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL
                                                  CORPORATION


                                                 By:  /s/ Max L. Mendelsohn
                                                      -----------------------
                                                      Max L. Mendelsohn
                                                      President and
                                                      Chief Executive Officer



                            -----------------------

                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

          KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Max L. Mendelsohn and Cornel C.
Spiegler, or either of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent
with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name,
place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to
file the same with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting said
attorney-in-fact and agent, and each of them, full power and authority to do
and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in
and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or
could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorney-in-fact and agent or either of them, or their or his substitute or
substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated:


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      Signature                             Title                                                       Date
      ---------                             -----                                                       ----


<S>                                         <C>                                                   <C>
/s/ Max L. Mendelsohn                       President, Chief Executive                            December 4, 1997
---------------------------                 Officer (Principal Executive
Max L. Mendelsohn                           Officer) and Director       
                           
</TABLE>


                                     II-5


<PAGE>





<TABLE>
<S>                                         <C>                                                     <C>
/s/ Cornel C. Spiegler                      Vice President -- Administration                        December 4, 1997
---------------------------                 and Chief Financial Officer      
Cornel C. Spiegler                          (Principal Financial Officer     
                                            and Principal Accounting Officer)
                           

/s/ Frederick R. Adler                      Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Frederick R. Adler


/s/ Philip R. Chapman                       Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
Philip R. Chapman


/s/ Gary Escandon                           Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
Gary Escandon


/s/ George F. Keane                         Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
George F. Keane


/s/ John W. Rowe, M.D.                      Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
John W. Rowe, M.D.


/s/ Udi Toledano                            Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Udi Toledano


/s/ Richard N. Wiener                       Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Richard N. Wiener
</TABLE>


                                     II-6


<PAGE>



                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS


Exhibit
  No.     Description                                                
-------   -----------                                                

4.1       --      Global Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock
                  Incentive Plan, as amended.

4.2       --      Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement.

4.3       --      Form of Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement.

4.4       --      Form of Non Statutory Stock Option Agreement
                  for Eligible Directors.

4.5       --      Certificate of the Designations, Powers,
                  Preferences and Rights of the Series A
                  Convertible Preferred Stock of
                  Global Pharmaceutical Corporation.

4.6       --      Certificate of the Designations, Powers,
                  Preferences and Rights of the Series B
                  Convertible Preferred Stock of
                  Global Pharmaceutical Corporation.

5         --      Opinion of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

23.1      --      Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP

23.2      --      Consent of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (included
                  in Exhibit 5).

24        --      Power of Attorney (included in signature page).
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 22038}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORP \\DE\\", "cik": "0001003642", "assigned-sic": "2834", "irs-number": "650403311", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-41595", "film-number": "97733239"}, "business-address": {"street1": "CASTOR & KENSINGTON AVES", "city": "PHILADELPHIA", "state": "PA", "zip": "19124-5694", "phone": "2152892220"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "CASTOR & KENSINGTON AVENUES", "city": "PHILADELPHIA", "state": "PA", "zip": "19124-5694"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 5, 1997

                                                     Registration No. 333-
==============================================================================
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                  ---------

                                   FORM S-8
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     Under
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                  ---------

                       GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION
            (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

            Delaware                                     65-0403311
(State or Other Jurisdiction of                (I.R.S. Employer Identification
of Incorporation or Organization)                          Number)

                          Castor & Kensington Avenues
                       Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124
              (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

          GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION 1995 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
                           (Full Title of the Plan)

                                  ---------

                               MAX L. MENDELSOHN
                       GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATION
                          Castor & Kensington Avenues
                       Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19124
                    (Name and Address of Agent for Service)

  Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service: (215) 289-2220

            Copies of all communications, including all communications sent to
the agent for service, should be sent to:

                                  ---------

                           SHELDON G. NUSSBAUM, ESQ.
                          Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
                               666 Fifth Avenue
                           New York, New York 10103
                                (212) 318-3000

                                  ---------

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Proposed Maximum           Proposed Maximum
Title Of Securities To Be           Amount To Be              Offering Price Per         Aggregate Offering        Amount Of
Registered                          Registered                Share(1)                   Price(1)                  Registration Fee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $.01 par                550,000 shares            $3.968                      $2,182,812.50              $643.93
value
===================================================================================================================================
(1)  The price is estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h)(1) under the
     Securities Act of 1933, as amended, solely for the purpose of calculating
     the registration fee, based on the average of the high and low prices of
     the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market on December 4, 
     1997.

==============================================================================
PART I

                    INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

     The document(s) containing the information called for in Part I of Form
S-8 will be sent or given to individuals awarded options under the Global
Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock Incentive Plan adopted by Global
Pharmaceutical Corporation and is not being filed with or included in this
Form S-8 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

                                      -1-
PART II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference

     The following documents filed by Global Pharmaceutical Corporation (the
"Company") are incorporated herein by reference:

          (i)  The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year
               ended December 31, 1996.

          (ii) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended March 31, 1997.

          (iii) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended June 30, 1997.

          (iv) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
               ended September 30, 1997.

          (v)  The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
               Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the
               Securities and Exchange Commission on December 8, 1995 as
               amended on December 14, 1995 and as amended on December 5, 1997.

     In addition to the foregoing, all documents subsequently filed by the
Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment
indicating that all of the securities offered hereunder have been sold or
deregistering all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a
document incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be
deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration
Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded
shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part
of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities

     Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

     Not applicable.

                                     II-1
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     The Company is a Delaware corporation, subject to the applicable
indemnification provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware (the "DGCL"). Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a Delaware corporation
to indemnify, subject to the standards therein prescribed, any person in
connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought or threatened by reason
of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent
of the corporation or was serving as such with respect to another corporation
or other entity at the request of such corporation.

     In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, the Company's Restated
Certificate of Incorporation (the "Certificate") provides that a director of
the Company shall not be personally liable to the Company or its stockholders
for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for
liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the Company
or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith, (iii)
arising from payment of dividends or approval of a stock purchase in violation
of Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the
director derived any improper personal benefit. While the Certificate provides
protection from awards for monetary damages for breaches of the duty of care,
it does not eliminate the director's duty of care. Accordingly, the
Certificate will not affect the availability of equitable remedies, such as an
injunction, based on a director's breach of the duty of care. The provisions
of the Certificate described above apply to officers of the Company only if
they are directors of the Company and are acting in their capacity as
directors, and does not apply to officers of the Company who are not
directors.

     The Company's By-Laws contain provisions that require the Company to
indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by
Delaware law. Under the DGCL, directors and officers as well as employees and
individuals may be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys' fees),
judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with specified
actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation as a
derivative action) if they act in good faith and in a manner they reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and
with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
believe their conduct was unlawful.

     The Company has purchased a directors and officers insurance policy under
which each director and certain officers of the Company are insured against
certain liabilities.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed

     Not Applicable.

                                     II-2
Item 8. Exhibits

          4.1  -- Global Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock Incentive Plan,
                  as amended

          4.2  -- Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement

          4.3  -- Form of Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement

          4.4  -- Form of Non Statutory Stock Option Agreement for Eligible
                  Directors

          4.5  -- Certificate of the Designations, Powers, Preferences and
                  Rights of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of Global
                  Pharmaceutical Corporation

          4.6  -- Certificate of the Designations, Powers, Preferences and
                  Rights of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock of Global
                  Pharmaceutical Corporation

          5    -- Opinion of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

          23.1 -- Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP.

          23.2 -- Consent of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (included in Exhibit
                  5).

          24   -- Power of Attorney (included in signature page).

Item 9. Undertakings

          (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to:

               (1) File, during any period in which offers or sales are being
               made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement
               to:

                    (i) Include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
                    the Securities Act of 1933;

                    (ii) Reflect in the prospectus any facts or events which,
                    individually or together, represent a fundamental change
                    in the information in the registration statement.
                    Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
                    volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
                    securities offered would not exceed that which was
                    registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of
                    the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in
                    the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant
                    to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
                    and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the
                    maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
                    "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective
                    registration statement;

                                     II-3
(iii) Include any additional or changed material
                    information on the plan of distribution;

               provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
               not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form
               S-8, and the information required to be included in a
               post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in
               periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by
               the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
               Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by
               reference in the registration statement.

                          (2) For determining liability under the Securities
                          Act of 1933, treat each post-effective amendment as
                          a new registration statement of the securities
                          offered, and the offering of the securities at that
                          time to be the initial bona fide offering.

                          (3) File a post-effective amendment to remove from
                          registration any of the securities that remain
                          unsold at the end of the offering.

               (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
               purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
               of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant
               to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
               Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee
               benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
               Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by
               reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a
               new registration statement relating to the securities offered
               therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
               be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

               (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under
               the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors,
               officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to
               the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
               advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
               Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
               expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
               unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
               against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
               registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer
               or controlling person of the registrant in the successful
               defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
               director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in
               connection with the securities being registered, the registrant
               will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
               settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
               appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
               indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in
               the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final
               adjudication of such issue.

                                     II-4
SIGNATURES

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania
on the 4th day of December, 1997.

                                                 GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL
                                                  CORPORATION

                                                 By:  /s/ Max L. Mendelsohn
                                                      -----------------------
                                                      Max L. Mendelsohn
                                                      President and
                                                      Chief Executive Officer

                            -----------------------

                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

          KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Max L. Mendelsohn and Cornel C.
Spiegler, or either of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent
with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name,
place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments
(including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to
file the same with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting said
attorney-in-fact and agent, and each of them, full power and authority to do
and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in
and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or
could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorney-in-fact and agent or either of them, or their or his substitute or
substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

          Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated:
Signature                             Title                                                       Date
      ---------                             -----                                                       ----
/s/ Max L. Mendelsohn                       President, Chief Executive                            December 4, 1997
---------------------------                 Officer (Principal Executive
Max L. Mendelsohn                           Officer) and Director
II-5
/s/ Cornel C. Spiegler                      Vice President -- Administration                        December 4, 1997
---------------------------                 and Chief Financial Officer      
Cornel C. Spiegler                          (Principal Financial Officer     
                                            and Principal Accounting Officer)
                           

/s/ Frederick R. Adler                      Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Frederick R. Adler

/s/ Philip R. Chapman                       Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
Philip R. Chapman

/s/ Gary Escandon                           Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
Gary Escandon

/s/ George F. Keane                         Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
George F. Keane

/s/ John W. Rowe, M.D.                      Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                         
John W. Rowe, M.D.

/s/ Udi Toledano                            Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Udi Toledano

/s/ Richard N. Wiener                       Director                                                December 4, 1997
---------------------------                                                                          
Richard N. Wiener
II-6
INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit
  No.     Description                                                
-------   -----------                                                

4.1       --      Global Pharmaceutical Corporation 1995 Stock
                  Incentive Plan, as amended.

4.2       --      Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement.

4.3       --      Form of Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement.

4.4       --      Form of Non Statutory Stock Option Agreement
                  for Eligible Directors.

4.5       --      Certificate of the Designations, Powers,
                  Preferences and Rights of the Series A
                  Convertible Preferred Stock of
                  Global Pharmaceutical Corporation.

4.6       --      Certificate of the Designations, Powers,
                  Preferences and Rights of the Series B
                  Convertible Preferred Stock of
                  Global Pharmaceutical Corporation.

5         --      Opinion of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

23.1      --      Consent of Price Waterhouse LLP

23.2      --      Consent of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (included
                  in Exhibit 5).

24        --      Power of Attorney (included in signature page).