U.K. GSK purchases U.S. drug company. Source: www1.iStockPhoto.com

GlaxoSmithKline will acquire Reliant Pharmaceuticals for $1.65 billion U.S. (£800 million) in cash to expand GSK’s cardiovascular portfolio in United States.

Reliant, a Liberty Corner, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company, focused on cardiovascular therapies, recorded net sales of $341 million in the nine months ending Sept. 30, an increase of 62 percent over the comparable time period in 2006, according to the London-based GSK.

Reliant has developed a portfolio of specialty medicines combating heart disease, including U.S. rights to Lovaza, a treatment for adult patients with very high levels of triglycerides. Lovaza is indicated as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride levels in adults with very high (_500 mg/dL) triglyceride levels.

Launched in late 2005, the net sales of Lovaza, formerly known as Omacor, in the nine months ending Sept. 30, were $206 million, an increase of 115 percent over the first nine months of 2006, GSK said.

Reliant licensed the rights to Lovaza in the U.S. and Puerto Rico from Pronova BioPharma, a Norwegian company that will continue to supply the product’s primary material. Rights to Lovaza in other markets have been licensed by Pronova to several other companies, GSK reported.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and is scheduled to conclude before year-end.