The Swiss drugmaker announced earlier this week an agreed 5.1 bln usd bid to buy the remaining 58 pct in Chiron that it does not already own, identifying vaccines as a major growth area.
As a result of the deal, Novartis takes full control of Chiron's 500 mln usd vaccines business - making its the world number five in the sector - its 500 mln usd diagnostics business, and its 600 mln biopharmaceuticals activities.
The vaccines and diagnostics operations are being combined to create a new division within Novartis, while the biopharmaceuticals business is being integrated into Novartis' existing pharma unit.
The vaccines industry is dominated by a small number of large players like GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Sanofi-Aventis SA and Merck & Co Inc, and Chiron is seen by analysts as having a weak pipeline of new products and as having production problems.
As a result Novartis is expected to invest heavily in R&D and manufacturing to increase capacity and quality.
Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella said yesterday that the company is looking at further acquisitions in vaccines.
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