GSK to buy Stiefel for $2.93bn
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) $2.9bn (€1.8bn) cash acquisition of US skin drug specialist Stiefel Laboratories “re-energises” the UK firm’s dermatology range, according to CEO Andrew Witty.
While full details are yet to emerge, reports suggest that the firms’ dermatology portfolios, which include leading products like Stiefel’s acne cream Duac and GSK’s cold sore remedy Abreva, will be combined as a new $1.5bn business unit.
Florida-based Stiefel has been the subject of much takeover speculation in recent months with healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Swiss drug major Novartis being named among potential suitors.
Witty said that: “Stiefel’s broad portfolio will provide immediate new revenue flows to Glaxo with significant opportunities to enhance growth through leveraging our existing global commercial infrastructure and manufacturing capability.”
