The shortlisted bidders for Polfa Warszawa, one of the last of the Polish state pharmaceutical companies to be privatised, are an eclectic bunch and illustrate clearly the extent to which many of the firms that used to be aggressive acquirers of assets have stepped...
Richter does it again – two acquisitions in a month!
Richter announced today that it is acquiring the oral contraceptive assets of Gruenenthal, a private German company. This is Richter’s second transaction in a month – and its last for some time, according to management. Under the terms of the deal, which will close...
Supersize me! Hikma goes large in US injectables
Hikma announced today that it is spending $112m to acquire Baxter’s US generic injectables business, propelling it to the number two position in the US market (measured by volume) after Hospira. In unit terms, Hikma now has a 16% market share, vs 1% previously...
Another small piece of the jigsaw – Teva buys Theramex
Teva announced today that it will pay €265m (plus possible performance-related milestones) to acquire Laboratoire Theramex, a Monaco-based subsidiary of Merck KGaA that specialises in hormone replacement therapy and other women’s health products. Theramex had sales of approximately €100m in 2009, a figure that...
Richter buys Preglem and blows a hole in its P&L
Gedeon Richter announced today that it has acquired Preglem, a PE-backed Swiss development company that specialises in women’s health. The up-front cost of the deal is CHF 150m (€114m), but there is the potential for additional milestone payments of up to CHF 295m (€223m)....
Watson invests in moksha8 and expands its presence in LatAm
Watson announced yesterday that it has invested $30m to take a stake in moksha8, a PE-backed pharmaceutical company based in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It has also committed to investing a further $20m, contingent on moksha8 being able to make certain specified product acquisitions over...
Actavis makes a belated move into biosimilars
Actavis said today that it is considering the purchase of a 51% stake in Biopartners, the Swiss subsidiary of the quoted Polish company Bioton. The cost of this is to be determined, but will depend on the future investment needs of the business –...
Sun wins Taro – at last
The Israeli Supreme Court today ruled in favour of Sun Pharmaceuticals and so at last brought to an end its long-running dispute with the controlling shareholders of Taro Pharmaceuticals. Sun has been trying to take over Taro since May 2007, when it emerged the...
Aspen agrees to buy Sigma’s Pharmaceuticals division
Aspen announced yesterday that, following its initial approach to Sigma of Australia, it has agreed a modified deal whereby it will buy Sigma’s pharmaceuticals division for AUD 900m (€630m). This will leave Sigma as a pure-play wholesaler, with a much stronger balance sheet than...
The revolving door continues to spin: Siggi Olafsson moves to Watson
Having left Actavis in order to make way for Claudio Albrecht (see news item of June 23rd 2010), Siggi Olafsson has now reappeared at Watson, where he will take over the role of Executive VP, Global Generics and will be resposible for driving Watson’s...