GlaxoSmithKline to acquire Genelabs in deal worth $57 million

PHILADELPHIA GlaxoSmithKline will acquire Genelabs Technologies for $57 million through a tender offer of $1.30 per share in cash under an agreement announced Thursday.

GSK said its acquisition of all the Redwood City, Calif.-based company’s outstanding shares of common stock would strengthen its development of drugs for hepatitis C.

“Genelabs has demonstrated a strong track record in HCV drug discovery and identified numerous novel classes of inhibitors that target unprecedented mechanisms in the virus?s life cycle,” said Zhi Hong, senior vice president of the Infectious Diseases Center for Excellence in Drug Therapy. “This arrangement, combined with our other collaborations, will give GSK a broad HCV drug discovery platform addressing novel targets and innovative therapeutic approaches.”