Shire sells oncology unit to Servier for $2.4bn

Ireland-based Shire is selling its oncology unit to France’s Servier in a deal worth $2.4 billion.

Shire’s chief executive Flemming Ornskov believes the deal to be a ‘key milestone’ for the company. “While the oncology business has delivered high growth and profitability, we have concluded that it is not core to Shire’s longer-term strategy,”

Servier’s group president Olivier Laureau said that the acquisition will help them to achieved the company’s vision of becoming a ‘Global key player’ within oncology.
“This acquisition allows us to establish a direct commercial presence in the United States, the world’s leading pharmaceuticals market, and to strengthen our portfolio of marketed products in the territories where Servier is already present. Our goal is to bring these treatments to greater numbers of cancer patients around the world,”