GSK has snapped up a Canadian drug maker in the biggest deal since the demerger of its consumer health arm Haleon last summer.
The FTSE 100 pharma giant bought Bellus Health, based in the Quebec city of Laval, for £1.6billion in cash.
It works out at around $14.75 for each Bellus share, more than double its Monday closing price on Wall Street.
At the helm: The swoop on Bellus is the GSK’s largest acquisition since it demerged Haleon last July as part of a strategy by boss Emma Walmsley (pictured)
Bellus is developing camlipixant, a specialist drug designed to help those suffering from chronic cough, a condition that GSK estimated affects around 10m globally.
Camlipixant is in late-stage clinical trials, with GSK’s chief commercial officer Luke Miels saying the drug has the potential to become a ‘best-in-class treatment with significant sales potential’.
He added the acquisition would complement the firm’s existing portfolio of medicines for respiratory illnesses including its severe asthma drug Nucala which last year raked in sales worth £1.4billion.
The purchase of Bellus is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year and begin adding to the company’s earnings from 2027.
GSK shares fell 1.8 per cent, or 27.8p, to 1484p.
The swoop on Bellus is the firm’s largest acquisition since it demerged Haleon last July as part of a strategy by GSK boss Emma Walmsley to focus on new and profitable medicines to treat cancer and other illnesses, after years of criticism about its performance.
It also follows the purchase last year of cancer drug maker Sierra Oncology and vaccine maker Affinivax for £1.5billion and £2.7billion respectively.
But the pharmaceuticals giant faces an uphill battle with many of its rivals, who are also looking to snap up promising drugs firms and have larger cash piles to tap into.
Earlier this week, German pharma group Merck bought US drug maker Prometheus Biosciences for £8.7billion.
Last month American giant Pfizer acquired cancer group Seagen in a deal worth £35billion, the industry’s largest acquisition in four years.
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