by Tunji Andrews

JGlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker, will take a stake in the Japanese subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. (APN) for an undisclosed sum, as part of an alliance to boost commercial operations in the Asian country.

Glaxo, which announced its intention to sell part of its Aspen stake Tuesday, said that its close relationship with the company will not be affected by the sale and that the sale is being made to benefit from the rise in Aspen’s value.

Glaxo said it will use the proceeds of the sale for general corporate purposes.It will retain a seat on Aspen’s board and intends to remain a significant shareholder of Aspen, it added. Glaxo shares closed Tuesday at 1,628 pence valuing the company at €79.2 billion.

It is intended that Aspen Japan will, where feasible, be the channel through which the Aspen Pharmacare Group will conduct its commercial business in Japan in a strategic alliance with GSK.

In terms of the collaboration, Aspen Global will hand-over the marketing authorisations and grant distribution rights to Aspen Japan for all products currently being marketed and distributed on behalf of Aspen in Japan.

Additionally, GSK will transfer the marketing authorisations and grant distribution rights to Aspen Japan for certain mature products in GSK’s portfolio.

GSK will also provide Aspen Japan with a pipeline of authorised generics for a number of GSK’s products while also offering Aspen Japan the rights to all future products that it acquires or licenses in Japan.

Lastly, in terms of this collaboration, AGI will be responsible for the management of Aspen Japan and for the commercialization of all the products in Aspen Japan’s portfolio.

This agreement is subject to certain conditions, one of which is Aspen Japan obtaining accreditation as a Marketing Authorisation Holder (MAH) from the relevant Japanese regulatory authorities.

It is expected that, through this agreement with GSK, Aspen will be able to harness more opportunities and grow its presence in one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical markets.