GlaxoSmithKline held talks over the weekend with Human Genome Sciences to agree a deal to acquire it for $2.6 billion (€2.1 billion), after pursuing the US biotech company for three months, sources familiar with the situation said yesterday.

The British pharmaceutical giant could sweeten its previous $13 per share offer with a small bump and a deal may come today, one of the sources said. However, they cautioned that the talks could still fail.

Human Genome, which rejected GlaxoSmithKline’s $2.6 billion offer in April and launched an auction process, has come under pressure from investors to try to strike a deal in the absence of any alternative bids. – (Reuters)