As part of its plan to focus on its core assets, Novartis has sold its global influenza vaccines business to Australia's CSL for $275 million. Earlier this year, GlaxoSmithKline paid $5.25 billion plus potential milestone payments and royalties for Novartis' vaccines business, excluding flu. CSL plans to combine the Novartis unit with its bioCSL subsidiary to create the second-largest supplier in the $4-billion global flu vaccine industry. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2015, pending regulatory approval.