Reports related to this article:
Plant(s): View 1 related plant in PECWeb
Released November 06, 2019 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) (GSK) (Brentford, England) has struck a 955 million-euro ($1.1 billion) deal to sell its two travel vaccines to Denmark's Bavarian Nordic (Kvistgaard, Denmark).
The deal is for the travel vaccines Rabipur (traded as Rabavert in the U.S.) for the prevention of rabies, and Encepur for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis. Both were acquired from Novartis in 2015 when GSK bought out its vaccines business [excluding influenza treatments] for $5.25 billion while at the same time offloading its oncology division to Novartis for $16 billion. Bavarian Nordic is a Denmark-based, fully-integrated biotechnology company specialising in the research, development and manufacture of active cancer immunotherapy's and vaccines for infectious diseases. The company said that the acquisition would accelerate its vision by three years "to become a leading and profitable vaccine company."
"This agreement with Bavarian Nordic will enable us to commit greater resources to our key growth assets and to our R&D pipeline, while also ensuring the continued supply of these important and successful vaccines," said Roger Connor, president of Global Vaccines at GSK.
Paul Chaplin, president and chief executive officer of Bavarian Nordic, added: "This truly transformative acquisition pulls forward our vision to be a profitable independent vaccine company. Our proven world-leading manufacturing expertise in egg-based vaccines certainly creates a perfect fit for Rabipur/RabAvert and Encepur, with significant future synergies. The addition of these two established and proven commercial products, together with JYNNEOS, has created a leading infectious disease franchise that will drive sustained profits and growth in the years ahead, supporting future product launches or product acquisitions."
Both vaccines will continue to be manufactured primarily at GSK's Marburg site in Germany until full production is transferred to Bavarian Nordic. A staged technology transfer will begin Q1 2020 with completion anticipated within five years. No employees or manufacturing facilities are being transferred as part of the deal.
Rabipur has been a well-established life-saving vaccine for the last 30 years and is used on persons bitten by suspect animals (PEP[1]) and non-immune subjects at risk of rabies (PrEP[2]). Encepur is used for active immunisation of high-risk populations against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
GSK's vaccines group posted strong growth in the second quarter of this year, with its new shingles treatment Shingrix beating expectations with sales of £734 million ($952 million) during the first half of this year. For the first half, GSK's vaccines sales increased by 25% compared to the same period in 2018 to £3.1 billion ($4.02 billion). Earlier this year Industrial Info reported on GSK and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) (New York, New York) planning to merge their consumer healthcare divisions with combined sales of approximately £9.8 billion ($12.7 billion). GSK is planning to split into two businesses, one for prescription drugs and vaccines, and the new joint venture for OTC products. For additional information, see October, 2019, article - GSK and Pfizer Merging Consumer Health Businesses.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The deal is for the travel vaccines Rabipur (traded as Rabavert in the U.S.) for the prevention of rabies, and Encepur for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis. Both were acquired from Novartis in 2015 when GSK bought out its vaccines business [excluding influenza treatments] for $5.25 billion while at the same time offloading its oncology division to Novartis for $16 billion. Bavarian Nordic is a Denmark-based, fully-integrated biotechnology company specialising in the research, development and manufacture of active cancer immunotherapy's and vaccines for infectious diseases. The company said that the acquisition would accelerate its vision by three years "to become a leading and profitable vaccine company."
"This agreement with Bavarian Nordic will enable us to commit greater resources to our key growth assets and to our R&D pipeline, while also ensuring the continued supply of these important and successful vaccines," said Roger Connor, president of Global Vaccines at GSK.
Paul Chaplin, president and chief executive officer of Bavarian Nordic, added: "This truly transformative acquisition pulls forward our vision to be a profitable independent vaccine company. Our proven world-leading manufacturing expertise in egg-based vaccines certainly creates a perfect fit for Rabipur/RabAvert and Encepur, with significant future synergies. The addition of these two established and proven commercial products, together with JYNNEOS, has created a leading infectious disease franchise that will drive sustained profits and growth in the years ahead, supporting future product launches or product acquisitions."
Both vaccines will continue to be manufactured primarily at GSK's Marburg site in Germany until full production is transferred to Bavarian Nordic. A staged technology transfer will begin Q1 2020 with completion anticipated within five years. No employees or manufacturing facilities are being transferred as part of the deal.
Rabipur has been a well-established life-saving vaccine for the last 30 years and is used on persons bitten by suspect animals (PEP[1]) and non-immune subjects at risk of rabies (PrEP[2]). Encepur is used for active immunisation of high-risk populations against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
GSK's vaccines group posted strong growth in the second quarter of this year, with its new shingles treatment Shingrix beating expectations with sales of £734 million ($952 million) during the first half of this year. For the first half, GSK's vaccines sales increased by 25% compared to the same period in 2018 to £3.1 billion ($4.02 billion). Earlier this year Industrial Info reported on GSK and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) (New York, New York) planning to merge their consumer healthcare divisions with combined sales of approximately £9.8 billion ($12.7 billion). GSK is planning to split into two businesses, one for prescription drugs and vaccines, and the new joint venture for OTC products. For additional information, see October, 2019, article - GSK and Pfizer Merging Consumer Health Businesses.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
