Glaxo to take 25% stake in Aspen Pharmacare Japanese unit

New Delhi, October 11, 2014 – Johannesburg: GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the UK’s biggest drugmaker, will take a stake in the Japanese subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. as part of an alliance to boost commercial operations in the Asian country.

Glaxo will transfer distribution rights to some products in Japan to the unit, in which it will own a 25% stake, Johannesburg-based Aspen said on Thursday in a statement. The balance will be held by the South African company, also Africa’s biggest generic drugmaker. Aspen has been seeking a partner in Japan to get better access to the fast-growing market, chief executive officer Stephen Saad said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Africa last month.

Aspen is expanding in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa to exploit growing demand for medicines in those regions and offset slower growth in its home market. The company, which supplies medicines in more than 150 countries, last year spent more than $2 billion buying assets from London-based Glaxo and US health-care company Merck & Co. to expand its geographic reach.

Glaxo is seeking new revenue streams to make up for the patent expiration of Advair, its best-selling asthma drug. The London-based company owned about 19% of Aspen before reducing its stake in November.

Aspen shares gained 4.1% to 354.20 rand as of 12:19 pm in Johannesburg, the biggest intraday gain since 10 September and an all-time high. The stock is up 33% this year. Glaxo was little changed at £14 in London.

Revenue from products distributed on behalf of Aspen in Japan “increased significantly” in the year ending June, the company said last month. Sales from the Asia Pacific region rose 12% to 8.5 billion rand, accounting for about 27% of the total. Bloomberg