GSK to buy new eczema drug Toctino from Basilea Pharmaceutica for £146 mn
12 Jun 2012
British pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) today said it is buying new eczema drug Toctino from Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, for an initial £146 million ($227 million) in order to boost its dermatology business.
Toctino is a once-daily oral retinoid and the only prescription medicine approved for the treatment of severe chronic hand eczema unresponsive to potent topical steroids in adults.
It is commercially available in 14 countries, approved in an another 15 countries, and is in a Phase 3 trial in the US.
In 2011, worldwide sales of Toctino were £22 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, GSK's dermatology unit Stiefel will acquire all Toctino patent rights, trademarks and product registrations owned by Basilea and will license certain clinical information and product know-how from Basilea.
GSK said that Stiefel will be responsible for the product's further development, manufacture and commercialisation of the drug worldwide.
