Levitra rights transferred back to Bayer

Bayer HealthCare (BHC) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed an agreement under which GSK's Levitra (vardenafil HCl) co-promotion rights have transferred back to Bayer in certain markets outside the US. The agreement will affect major markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Canada where the product is currently co-promoted by Bayer and GSK.

There is no change in the US arrangement under which GSK and Bayer (through its distributor Schering-Plough) now co-promote Levitra. Similarly, there will be no change to the co-marketing arrangement in Italy, where Bayer markets the product as Levitra and GSK markets it as Vivanza, or in countries where one of the companies markets the product exclusively.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer will pay e208m to buy back European and international co-promotion rights from GSK.

'The decision to buy back Levitra co-promotion rights is a logical step to enhance BHC's Pharmaceuticals group in Europe, Latin America and Asia where we have a strong primary care organisation with the capacity and the

commitment to fully maximise the potential of our primary care portfolio, which includes Levitra,' explained Wolfgang Plischke, head of BHC's Pharmaceuticals.

David Stout, president, pharmaceutical operations for GSK, said: 'This agreement represents an opportunity for GSK and Bayer to realise the maximum potential value from Levitra. GSK will continue to be actively involved in marketing the product in the US, Italy and 26 other countries worldwide, and both companies remain firmly committed to its commercial success. The relationship between GSK and Bayer remains strong.'