GSK Divests Rabies and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Vaccines

GSK plc announced on October 21, 2019, that it has agreed to divest its travel vaccine brands, Rabipur for rabies prevention and Encepur for tick-borne encephalitis prevention, to Danish company Bavarian Nordic. The transaction includes an upfront payment of approximately €301 million and potential milestone payments, bringing the total consideration to up to €955 million.

This divestment aligns with GSK's strategy to increase focus and reinvestment in its key growth assets and research pipeline. The company aims to simplify its supply chain and dedicate resources to its core vaccine portfolio.

Manufacturing of both vaccines will continue at GSK's Marburg site in Germany until production is fully transferred to Bavarian Nordic. This phased technology transfer is expected to commence in early 2020 and take up to five years to complete. No employees or manufacturing facilities are being transferred as part of this transaction.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and Bavarian Nordic's shareholder approval of a rights issue. GSK originally acquired these vaccine brands from Novartis in 2015 as part of a larger transaction. The transaction was expected to close by the end of 2019.