GlaxoSmithKline plc today announced that it has entered into
an agreement to acquire Nanjing MeiRui Pharma Co., Ltd for a cash consideration
of approximately $70 million. Ninety per cent of the share capital of MeiRui is
to be acquired from Pagoda Pharmaceuticals Limited and the remaining ten per
cent from Allergon AB
in a move to further expand GSK’s presence in China, one of the fastest-growing
and most significant of the emerging markets.

MeiRui is a leading Chinese pharmaceutical business with a
strong portfolio of urology and allergy products, including Prostat for
benign prostatic hyperplasia and Sheniting for overactive bladder
syndrome. GSK will gain access to this portfolio of products, as well as
MeiRui’s established sales and marketing platform and a manufacturing facility
in Nanjing City, Jiangsu
Province, China.

Completion of the transaction is expected by the end of
2010, subject to regulatory approval.