GlaxoSmithKline sells rights to cold sore drug to Canadian pharma

GlaxoSmithKline has sold the rights to topical drug Zovirax to a Canadian pharmaceutical company for $300 million.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) said its subsidiary Biovail Laboratories has signed agreements to acquire all U.S. and Canadian rights to Zovirax, a cold sore treatment that comes in creams and ointments. Biovail had previously been the exclusive distributor of the drug in the United States. The deal with GSK (NYSE:GSK), which has its U.S. headquarters in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, expands Biovail’s geographic rights to include Canada. Valeant CEO J. Michael Peason said in a statement that Valeant’s sales and marketing staff in the United States and Canada can ’revitalize and grow the brand.’

The deal is still subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Zovirax accounts for more than $146 million in annual sales in the United States for Valeant. The product generated $246 million in 2010 sales for GSK.