GSK to buy Basilea eczema drug for £146m

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it is to buy Basilea’s new eczema drug Toctino for an initial £146m to boost its Stiefel dermatology business.

The Swiss biotech company is also entitled to further payments of up to £50m if the drug is approved in the United States, as well as double-digit percentage payments on US sales beginning three years after launch.

Basilea shares gained 10 per cent this morningon news of the cash injection, although analysts at Jefferies said a good chunk of the money would likely be spent developing experimental antibiotic ceftobiprole and other earlier-stage products.