The acquisition is expected to boost GSK's sagging sales in the U.S. as the British firm will market Reliant's heart diseases medicines, particularly the best-selling anti-cholesterol drug Lovaza, in the country and in Puerto Rico.
Telegraph.co.uk quoted Chris Viehbacher, GSK's head of pharmaceuticals in the U.S., as saying, "The addition of Lovaza to the GSK portfolio adds a new driver of sales growth in the U.S. business."
Cholesterol drugs are commonly made from statins. Lovaza is the only drug with omega-3 fatty acids approved by America's Food and Drug Administration. The drug generated $206 million in sales for the New Jersey-based Reliant last year, 115 percent more than in 2005.
Reliant also produces DynaCirc and InnoPran for high blood pressure, and Rythmol for abnormal heart rhythms.
