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news.British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has completed the $20bn three-part asset swap deal with Switzerland-based pharmaceutical firm Novartis, as part of efforts to dispose of non-core businesses and focus on bolstering core areas.
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Under the deal, GSK has acquired Novartis’s global Vaccines business (excluding influenza vaccines) for $5.25bn.
Both the companies have created a new consumer healthcare joint venture in which GSK will have majority control and an equity interest of 63.5%.
As part of the arrangement, Novartis had agreed to buy GSK’s Oncology business for $16bn including $1.5bn if certain milestones are met.
GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: "Completion of this transaction represents a major step forward in the Group’s strategy to create a stronger and more balanced set of businesses across Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Healthcare and Vaccines.
"We will now be focused on rapidly implementing our integration plans to realise the growth and synergy opportunities we see in the new Consumer Healthcare and Vaccines businesses. We look forward to sharing more details of this with our shareholders on 6 May."
Currently, GSK intends to use the transaction proceeds to fund the full amount of the previously announced capital return of £4bn to shareholders.
The deal will see about $1.5bn of that purchase price returned to Novartis if certain conditions relating to the COMBI-d Trial are not met.
GSK’s COMBI-d trial showed a statistically significant reduction in the risk of death for the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) compared to dabrafenib monotherapy in patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive metastatic melanoma.
Image: GlaxoSmithKline headquarters in London, UK. Photo: courtesy of Maxwell Hamilton.