Sweden's Meda buys rights to GSK's Relifex

Swedish specialty pharmaceuticals group Meda AB has acquired licensingrights to GlaxoSmithKline's Relifex/ Relafen (nabumetone), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis and pain disorders. Financial details were not disclosed, but Meda said it will pay for the acquisition through a combined new share issue, with preferential rights for existing stockholders, and loans.

Under the terms of the agreement, Meda acquires full exclusive rights to Relifex in a number of European markets including the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Baltic countries. The products, which include some other smaller GSK drugs, bring in 70 million Swedish kroner ($6.7 million) in sales on an annual basis.

GSK will manufacture Relifex for Meda and will continue to sell the product itself in the USA, where it recorded sales of L183 million ($266.2 million) last year. Anders Lonner, Meda's chief executive, said that the deal with GSK represents a major step for the group in establishing itself as a specialty pharmaceuticals company, noting that "Relifex is an established and well-documented product, which fits well into one of our therapeutic priorities, inflammation and pain."