GSK agrees UK deal for meningitis shot after Novartis stand-off

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline hasreached a deal with the British government to supply a newmeningitis B vaccine, following a lengthy stand-off over pricewith the product's previous owner Novartis.

Health minister Jeremy Hunt announced the deal on Sunday,which he said would make Britain the first country in the worldto have a nationwide vaccination programme for the potentiallydeadly childhood disease.

Government advisers said in 2014 that all children over twomonths old should be given the vaccine Bexsero, which wasdeveloped by Novartis. But talks stalled over price, leading tohigh-profile protests by campaigners demanding immediate access.

Britain's GSK earlier this month completed a deal to acquirethe vaccine from Swiss-based Novartis, following a complexthree-part asset swap worth more than $20 billion.

"We had a stand-off really for the best part of a year withthe company that used to own this vaccine but since GSK havecome on board they have reduced the price and that means we cannow go ahead this year with rolling out the meningitis Bvaccine," Hunt said.

Nikki Yates, general manager of GSK in Britain, said thedrugmaker was "delighted" to have reached an agreement justthree weeks after acquiring Bexsero. Although pricing detailsremain confidential, Yates said it offered fair value to theNational Health Service and a reasonable return for GSK.

Bexsero is the only meningitis B vaccine licensed inBritain, although a rival product from Pfizer is waitingin the wings.

Chris Head, chief executive of the Meningitis ResearchFoundation, said meningitis B had been at the top of hischarity's agenda for decades and he welcomed a decision thatwould save both lives and money.

The long-term costs to the health service of a severe caseof the disease can exceed 3 million pounds ($4.5 million), hesaid.

Meningitis B is the biggest single cause of meningitis inBritain and leads to death in 10 percent of all cases and tolong-term after effects in a further 36 percent. The conditioninvolves infection and inflammation of the lining of the brain.

($1 = 0.6723 pounds) (Editing by Susan Thomas)