PHARMACEUTICAL group SmithKline Beecham is selling three of its drugs for £1.9 bn to secure approval for its proposed merger with Glaxo Wellcome.

The list is headed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy drug Kytril which Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche is buying for £0.8bn. Fellow Swiss company Novartis has snapped up herpes treatments Famvir and Vectavir/Denavir for £1.09 bn.

The sales are being made to secure regulatory approval for the merger which is expected to be completed within the next couple of months

The sell-off is necessary under competition rules as Glaxo markets rival chemotherapy drug Zofran and rival antiviral drugs Zovirax and Valtrex.

The marriage between the two between the pair has been approved by both company's shareholders and is subject to sanction by the UK High Court and by antitrust clearance in the US.

Glaxo, which employs more than 1,600 people at its site in Barnard Castle, and SmithKline had been due to finalise the merger last month but the completion date was put back, due to a hold-up in gaining US regulatory approval.

The £100 bn plus deal was first brokered by the two pharmaceutical giants in January and approval for the deal from the European Commission was received in May.

The deal sparked rumours in the Teesdale community of possible job losses at the Harmire Road plant, but the site had previously steered clear of any redundancies announced by the group.

The success of the Barnard Castle operation is due in part to its successful involvement in producing top-selling ulcer drug Zantac, and Imigram, for migraines