RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - UK-based GlaxoSmithKline, which has U.S. headquarters in the RTP, has purchased Stiefel Laboratories of Coral Gables, FL, for $2.9 billion.

Stiefel operates an R&D facility in the Triangle and planned to invest more than $50 million and hire 250 people for the 115,000-square-foot site, a former Eli Lilly property.

Stiefel, a 160-year-old company, makes acne treatments and other skin care products and vitamins.