CCI approves Novartis-Glaxo merger of certain business portfolios
In all, three transactions will take placea vaccines transaction, a consumer healthcare transaction and an oncology transaction
New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merging of certain business portfolios of Swiss drug maker Novartis AG and UK-based GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), holding that the same would not cause any appreciable effect on competition within the country.
In all, three transactions are to take place between the two drug companies—a vaccines transaction, a consumer healthcare transaction and an oncology transaction. The three transaction will be governed by an implementation agreement.
GSK will acquire Novartis’s global human vaccine business, excluding its influenza vaccine business. A joint venture between GSK and Novartis for consumer healthcare will be formed. For this venture, GSK, with a stake of 63.5%, will contribute its global consumer healthcare business, while Novartis will give its over-the-counter consumer healthcare business. These contributions will exclude GSK’s consumer healthcare business in India and Novartis’s products managed by Novartis’s pharmaceutical division, alcon division, and sandoz division. Novartis will acquire GSK’s portfolio of oncology products.
CCI, in its order, stated that no adverse effect on competition would be caused in India by the vaccine transaction. Novartis is set to acquire eleven of GSK’s existing and two proposed oncology products. Of these, only four are being sold in India, and they do not overlap with any product sold by Novartis. CCI also took opinions from several hospitals includings the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi.
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