Drug makers GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer are pooling a group of marketed and experimental HIV/AIDS drugs into a new company designed to spread the risk of advancing new therapies for the lethal virus,according to FierceBIotech.
London-based GlaxoSmithKline initially will own 85 percent of the joint venture, and Pfizer in Philadelphia will own the remaining 15 percent, according to a joint press release by the two companies.
Together, the companies will manage 11 marketed drugs that earned about $2.4 billion in revenue last year, FierceBiotech said. These marketed drugs include market-leading therapies Combivir, Kivexa and Selzentry/Celsentri,according to a Dow Jones report (Wall Street Journal subscription required).
The new company also will research six experimental drugs for HIV/AIDS, contracting for research and development services with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer.
“Today marks a definitive step by GSK to renew our focus and deliver more medicines, more efficiently, to people living with HIV/AIDS,” said Andrew Witty, the UK drug maker’s chief executive, in the joint statement. “At the core of this specialist business is a broad portfolio of products and pipeline assets, which can be more effectively leveraged through the new company’s strong revenue base and dedicated research capability.”
Pfizer’s chief executive, Jeff Kindler, said, “The new company can reach more patients and accomplish much more for the treatment of HIV globally than either company on its own.”
The venture underlines a growing trend by big pharmaceutical companies to get together in the costly and risky process of developing new medicines,according to Reuters news service.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, likely will slightly reduce GlaxoSmithKline’s cash flow next year but have little effect on Pfizer’s earnings, Dow Jones said.
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