Novartis buys herpes drugs
The Basel-based Novartis healthcare group has signed an agreement worth SFr2.79 billion ($1.63 billion) to acquire herpes drugs from SmithKline Beecham (SB).
The deal concerns the antiviral products Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir.
A Novartis statement on Thursday said SB was selling off the treatments in response to antitrust concerns over its plans to merge with Glaxo Wellcome.
Thomas Ebeling, chief executive officer of Novartis Pharma said: “Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir will broaden our portfolio, particularly in the United States and especially in the key general practitioner market, where the drugs are prescribed most.”
Under the terms of the agreement, all sales of Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir will pass to Novartis, and the company will acquire global marketing and production rights as well as all intellectual property rights and the right to further develop the products.
The deal is subject to the completion of the merger between SB and Glaxo Wellcome and regulatory approvals.
In another deal involving SmithKline Beecham, the Roche healthcare group of Basel announced it is to buy the global rights to Kytril, a drug used in chemotherapy (see “Roche strengthens its position as leading supplier of chemical therapies”).
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