GlaxoSmithKline‘s (NYSE:GSK) rights to certain over-the-counter medications in Europe are set to be sold to Omega Pharma in a deal worth more than $613 million.
The sale will bring to Belgium-based Omega such brands as feminine cleansing product Lactayd, vitamin and nutritional supplement Abtei, and heartburn and antacid reliever Zantac. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Britain-based GSK, which has its U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, announced last year plans to streamline its consumer healthcare products division. The strategy does not mean an exit from selling over-the-counter products; toothpaste Sensodyne remains a leader among GSK’s oral healthcare products. But GSK said it would divest “noncore” OTC products. Last December, GSK sold North American rights to 17 OTC products to Irvington, New York-based Prestige Brands Holdings (NYSE:PBH) for $660 million.
As part of the sale agreement with Omega, the Belgian company will acquire a GSK manufacturing site in Herrenberg, Germany. A number of the products that are included in the sale are manufactured at that site. The companies expect that the 110 workers there transfer to Omega.
But neither the Prestige deal nor the Omega deal included weight-loss product alli. Alli fell under a 2009 U.S. Food and Drug Administration probe to determine whether the product causes liver damage. Alli’s label has since been updated to reflect potential health risks, including severe liver injury. But GSK’s alli sales have continued to decline.
GSK said today that it still plans to divest alli, but that process has been delayed until the company can resolve a third-party supply interruption for the product.
