Glaxo on the hunt for more takeover targets
Glaxo on the hunt for more takeover targets as it looks to bolster its pipeline of new drugs
‘More in the funnel’: GSK Chief Emma Walmsley
The boss of pharma giant GSK has confirmed that the group is looking for more acquisitions to bolster its pipeline of new drugs.
On a call discussing the FTSE 100 company’s first-quarter results, chief executive Emma Walmsley said the company had “more in the hopper” as it worked out new acquisition targets.
The comments followed the pharmaceutical company’s attack on Bellus Health earlier this month in a deal that valued the Canadian drug maker at £1.6 billion.
It was the largest acquisition since GSK spun off its consumer health business Haleon last summer as part of a strategy by Walmsley to focus on new and profitable drugs to treat cancer and other diseases after years of criticism of the company’s performance. .
The acquisition of Bellus also followed last year’s purchase of cancer drug maker Sierra Oncology and vaccine maker Affinivax for £1.5 billion and £2.7 billion respectively.
“We are absolutely delighted with the deals we have announced in recent months, we plan to do more,” said the CEO.
“There’s more in the funnel, but of course we can’t share details about that.”