Gsk
Rivals turn partners for COVID-19 vaccine challenge
The latest tie-up involves US giant Merck which agreed to help produce the potentially key one-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.
The announcement is a huge setback in efforts to fight the pandemic, which first emerged in China last December and has killed over 1.5 million people worldwide.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, but about a dozen vaccines are being trialled globally.
The Department of Employment and Labour has also issued GlaxoSmithKline with a prohibition notice following an inspection this week.
Research into urgently needed medicines for the developing world now relies on just a handful of companies, creating a fragile ecosystem where cutbacks by one player could have a significant impact on future supplies.
The new financing comes four months after its acquisition of a portfolio of GlaxoSmithKline rare disease medicines, including the gene therapy Strimvelis.
The stakes are high for the two leaders in the $27-billion-a-year HIV market, with shares of around 53 and 22% respectively, according to industry data.
The study aims to enrol 4,500 men who have sex with men, and transgender women who have sex with men, at 40 sites across the world.
Third quarter sales, in sterling terms, rose 9 percent to £6.13 billion, although profits were still down.
The drugmaker will invest $20 million to help fund the work for an initial five years.
GSKs CEO said the disposal would help give his company flexibility to invest in new opportunities.