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Novartis, GSK swapping assets

April 23, 2014 12:03 AM UTC

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) announced multi-billion dollar deals that will see the pharmas sell assets to one another. Novartis will bolster its portfolio of marketed cancer drugs and GSK will bulk up its vaccine business. The pharmas also will create a JV focused on OTC. Novartis was up $1.10 to $86.56 on Tuesday, while GSK gained 81p to 1,640p in London and $2.18 to $55.30 in New York.

Novartis will pay GSK $14.5 billion in cash to acquire GSK's portfolio of 11 marketed cancer drugs and "related R&D" for the drugs, as well as rights to afuresertib ( GSK2110183), a protein kinase B inhibitor in Phase II testing for ovarian cancer. GSK is eligible for a $1.5 billion milestone tied to results of the Phase III COMBI-d trial of its melanoma drugs Tafinlar dabrafenib and Mekinist trametinib. Novartis will have opt-in rights to commercialize GSK's current and future cancer pipeline. GSK's cancer drugs posted 2013 sales of $1.6 billion. ...