GlaxoSmithKline's ($GSK) chief strategy officer expects to see more big M&A deals roil the industry, but he doesn't expect his own company to be in the middle of any major buyouts.
"There will undoubtedly be more M&A," David Redfern allowed at the Reuters Health Summit. "There will probably be more mega-deals, largely caused by pressure. As pressure increases, you'll probably see more deals." But Reuters Ben Hirschler reports that GSK will continue to target smaller deals even as he expects Big Biotechs like Biogen Idec and Amgen to get aggressive with their own acquisitions in the field.
Redfern is also enthusiastic about the potential of its new HIV company formed in collaboration with Pfizer. The two big pharma companies pooled their HIV/AIDS programs into a company dubbed ViiV, with GSK holding on to a majority interest. Redfern told the summit that the company may go public if it makes sense and that more such collaborative ventures could be in the offing.
"We are very open to more of those sort of therapy combinations, in the right circumstances and if we can find the right partners," said the strategy czar.
- read the Reuters story on Redfern's view on M&A trends
- and here's another on Redfern's view on ViiV