By Neil MacLucas
ZURICH--Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN)
said Monday they had closed a series of transactions worth more
than $20 billion that will fundamentally reshape both of the drug
giants.
Basel-based Novartis said the deal, which was announced in April
last year, refocuses the healthcare company on its key
pharmaceuticals, eye care and generics businesses. By wrapping its
business around those segments, Novartis hopes to improve its
margins.
The deals transform London-based Glaxo into a
vaccines-and-consumer-drug titan.
Novartis purchased Glaxo's oncology unit for around $14.5
billion, boosting the Swiss company's lineup of cancer products.
The company will now get roughly a fifth of its nearly $54 billion
in estimated annual revenue from cancer drugs.
Glaxo paid $5.25 billion for Novartis's vaccines business,
acquiring the company's promising Bexsero meningitis B vaccine.
Both deals could carry higher price tags if certain milestones are
met.
In addition to the transactions with Glaxo, Novartis sold its
animal-health business to Eli Lilly & Co. as part of the
package of deals. In a separate deal, the Swiss drugs giant sold a
diagnostics business to Spain's Grifols SA, another move to a
sleeker portfolio of operations.
-Write to Neil MacLucas at neil.maclucas@wsj.com
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