British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline said on April 20 that it has agreed to buy U.S.-based Stiefel Laboratories in a deal worth up to $3.6 billion dollars.

"GSK and Stiefel Laboratories today announced that they have signed an agreement to create a new world-leading specialist dermatology business," the pair said in a joint statement.

The deal for Stiefel, a maker of anti-itching creams, acne treatments and other skin care products, had been widely expected.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009