Glaxo in Chinese bolt-on acquisition

Anglo-American drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline is to increase its exposure to the fast growing Chinese pharmaceuticals market.Glaxo is paying around $70m in cash for MeiRui, a company with a strong portfolio of urology and allergy products, including Prostat for benign prostatic hyperplasia and Sheniting for overactive bladder syndrome. Glaxo will gain access to this portfolio of products, as well as MeiRui's established sales and marketing platform and a manufacturing facility in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China.Ninety per cent of the share capital of MeiRui is to be acquired from Pagoda Pharmaceuticals Limited and the remaining ten per cent from Allergon AB.