GSK and Daiichi Sankyo set up vaccines joint venture
Expect to become the largest vaccines company in Japan
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Daiichi Sankyo Co have agreed to set up a vaccine joint venture (jv), forming what they expect to be Japan’s largest vaccine company.
The two firms will have an equal stake in the jv, which will be called Japan Vaccine Co, and split profits 50:50 with a percentage funding ongoing capital needs of the jv. Both firms will sell their respective vaccines into the jv at agreed prices.
There will be a minimal total cash investment of JPY100m (approximately £800,000) split equally between the two companies to cover the start up costs of the jv.
The jv will hold the development and commercial rights for already existing vaccines from both parent companies. It will supply globally recommended vaccines to help protect the Japanese people, including vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV), rotavirus, seasonal flu, mumps, diphtheria pertussis (DTP), and measles rubella (MR). The business will be expanded in the future as new vaccines in the jv development pipeline are approved.
Christophe Weber, president designate of GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, said the jv ‘marks another step in our strategy to build our presence in key growth markets and will create the first and largest company dedicated solely to vaccines in Japan’.
The jv will start in July and employ around 200 people.
