GlaxoSmithKline buys Croatian drug maker

Croatian drug maker Pliva recently sold its research and development center to GlaxoSmithKline PLC in a deal worth up to US$50 million (euro60 million). According to the Associated Press, Pliva has increasingly shifted its business toward making copies of established medicines since the center opened. GlaxoSmithKline, the world''s second-largest pharmaceutical company, will pay Pliva initially US$35 million (euro42 million) and keep 130 employees of the institute. Pliva may receive up to an additional US$15 million (euro18 million) if the early stage compounds progress into clinical development. Pliva is one of Croatia''s most profitable companies.