GlaxoSmithKline will acquire
Genelabs Technologies for approximately $57 million in cash. This acquisition is part of GSK’s effort to develop new therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Genelabs will become part of GSK’s Drug Discovery organization and its HCV programs will be consolidated into GSK's therapeutic approaches already underway internally and through collaborations.
“Genelabs has demonstrated a strong track record in HCV drug discovery and identified numerous novel classes of inhibitors that target unprecedented mechanisms in the virus’s life cycle,” said Zhi Hong, senior vice president of the Infectious Diseases Centre for Excellence in Drug Discovery (ID CEDD) at GSK. “This arrangement, combined with our other collaborations, will give GSK a broad HCV drug discovery platform addressing novel targets and innovative therapeutic approaches.”
Fred Driscoll, president and chief executive officer of Genelabs, said, “This transaction provides our shareholders with certain value at a substantial premium to our stock price. Through the efforts of our experienced scientific staff and other employees, we have generated highly differentiated compounds with the potential to address unmet medical needs of people with the HCV infection. GSK’s world-class research and development organization will allow us to accelerate our strategic vision of providing novel treatments that deliver tremendous value for patients.”
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