GSK Sells Four Drugs to ‘Simplify Manufacturing’

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has sold the intellectual property (IP) rights to four branded drugs for roughly $339 million to Aspen Global.

The deal is part of its effort to simplify manufacturing operations by divesting products that can be commercialized by other companies, GSK said. These products require specialized manufacturing, it added.

The drugs — Eltroxin (levothyroxine), Imuran (azathioprine), Lanoxin (digoxin) and Zyloric (allopurinol)  — had sales of approximately $159 million last year in the markets covered by the agreement, GSK said. Aspen now has the IP rights to those pharmaceuticals for all major markets worldwide with the exception of the U.S. and Zyloric in Japan.

GSK said it would continue to manufacture the products for Aspen during a transitional period, after which Aspen will take full responsibility for the manufacturing.

Eltroxin is a thyroid hormone for hyperthyroidism, Lanoxin is a cardiac glycoside for heart failure, Imuran is an immunosuppressant and Zyloric is an enzyme inhibitor to treat gout.