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Glaxo pays £2.5bn for skin specialist
Lucy Tobin20.04.09
The UK's biggest pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline has bought American skincare specialist Stiefel Laboratories for $3.6 billion (£2.5 billion).
Stiefel's price tag includes $400 million of debt but its portfolio, which mainly involves treatments for acne, dandruff and nappy rash, gives Glaxo a dermatology business with annual sales of $1.5 billion.
GSK said it expects to make $240 million savings by 2012 but did not mention job losses. Stiefel employs hundreds at its UK headquarters in Maidenhead.
GSK's executive Andrew Witty said: “Stiefel's broad portfolio will provide immediate new revenue flows.” The deal follows a trend of consolidation in the drug industry. So far this year, Viagra-maker Pfizer paid $68 billion for US rival Wyeth, and Merck paid $41 billion for Schering-Plough. Last week, GSK and Pfizer started a new joint venture combining their HIV drugs.
