Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies have joined together, with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Novartis announcing a shared services partnership.

The two companies will share asserts under the agreement which will see GSK and Novartis combine their consumer healthcare units. The companies have announced that the partnership will allow for the two businesses to focus on key areas.

Under the deal GSK will sell its drug cancer business to Novartis for $16 billion, while GSK will receive Novartis’ vaccine business for $7.1 billion.

GSK has revealed that the company expects to see significantly increased revenues from the deal, with a projected increase of £1.3 billion to £26.9 billion, according to the company.

Andrew Witty, chief executive, of GSK, said: "With this transaction, we will substantially strengthen two of our core businesses and create significant new options to increase value for shareholders."

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