GlaxoSmithKline to buy US biotech Affinivax in $3.3bn deal

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said on Tuesday that it had agreed to acquire Boston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Affinivax as part of a deal valued at as much as $3.3bn.

GlaxoSmithKline will make an upfront payment of $2.1bn for Affinivax, with another $1.2bn in potential development milestones to follow upon the achievement of certain paediatric clinical development milestones. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Affinivax.

The FTSE 100-listed firm stated it had chosen to acquire Affinivax as part of an effort to support the development of its "strong portfolio of innovative vaccines and specialty medicines" and to grant it access to the company's next-generation 24-valent pneumococcal vaccine candidate, currently in phase II development, and its "highly innovative" MAPS technology.

Chief scientific officer Dr Hal Barron said: "The proposed acquisition further strengthens our vaccines R&D pipeline, provides access to a new, potentially disruptive technology, and broadens GSK's existing scientific footprint in the Boston area.

"We look forward to working with the many talented people at Affinivax to combine our industry-leading development, manufacturing, and commercialisation capabilities to make this exciting new technology available to those in need."

Elsewhere, GSK reaffirmed its full-year 2022 guidance and said the group's medium-term outlook for 2021-2026 of a more than 5% sales and 10% adjusted operating profit compound annual growth rate at constant currency remained unchanged.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com