GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to pay up to $3.3 billion to acquire Affinivax, Inc of Cambridge, US, which has a portfolio of vaccines to prevent pneumococcal disease and other infections. The deal is one of the company’s largest, and consists of an upfront payment of $2.1 billion plus two milestone payments of $0.6 billion each. The milestone payments will be dispensed upon the completion of certain paediatric clinical studies. Affinivax’s lead product, AFX3772, is in Phase 2 for the prevention of infection from Streptococcus pneumoniae, a gram-positive bacterium.
