Drug Topics - August 25, 2008 - (Page 5) 5 Of Interest to Pharmacists Largest generics firm Teva gets even bigger with acquisitions Fred Gebhart T he biggest generic drugmaker in the traceptive market,” he said. “Acquiring Barr world, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and its Duramed franchise will be a powerful grew even bigger this summer. Teva position for Teva.” completed its $360 million acquisition of Duramed focuses on women’s health. Bentley Pharmaceuticals and announced a Products include Seasonique (levonorgestrel/ $7.5 billion friendly takeover of Barr Pharmaethinyl estradiol), Enjuvia (synthetic conjuTeva CEO ceuticals. Teva CEO Shlomo Yanai said the gated estrogens), Plan B (levonorgestrel), a Shlomo Yanai Barr acquisition would leave Teva more than nonhormonal intrauterine device called Paratwice the size of the No. 2 generic maker, Sandoz. Gard, and other contraceptive and cholesterol products “This was the 12th attempt to acquire Barr and the 3rd for the women’s health market. serious offer from Teva,” Barr CEO Bruce Downey said The Barr acquisition also gives Teva a strong position in a conference call. “We did it for the right reasons with in generic biologic products. Shlomo called biologics “the the right partner at the right price.” For each share of Barr next wave in pharmaceutical science and in generics.” stock, Barr shareholders will get $66.50 in cash and Teva European regulators have already approved a handful stock, a 42 percent premium over Barr’s closing price of of biosimilars, as generic biologics are called in the Eu$46.82 the day before the deal was announced. Teva is ropean Union. In the United States “biogenerics” has also assuming Barr’s net debt of $1.5 billion. emerged as the preferred term. Brand-name companies, Yanai and Downey said the deal should close by the end generics companies, industry trade groups, lobbyists, of 2008 and will produce net profits by the end of 2009. regulators, interest groups, and Congress are still deThe combined company would have had sales of bating the details of a pathway leading to biogeneric about $11.9 billion in 2007. The combined portfolio in- approvals. In an interview with Drug Topics earlier this cludes more than 500 products, more than 200 generic year, Downey predicted significant progress for biogedrug applications that are pending with the Food and nerics pathway legislation in 2009. Drug Administration (FDA), and about 3,700 product Teva may be thinking in the same direction, Thwaite registrations pending worldwide. said. “Barr was a very potent player in biologics,” he said. “Now Teva is going to be a world leader in biogeGood move for both companies nerics, where it wasn’t before.” Barr’s stock price had fallen by about 21 percent during Teva’s buying spree is part of a continuing global the year before the sale as the U.S. economy weakened. consolidation in the generic drug industry. Barr acTeva stock rose 13 percent during the same period. quired Croatian drugmaker Pliva in 2006. In the fall Shlomo told stock analysts that the merger represents of 2007 Mylan outbid Teva and Indian generic power1.6 million prescriptions daily in the U.S. market alone, house Ranbaxy for the generic business of Germany’s more than twice the prescription volume of the nearest Merck KGaA. In June of this year Japanese drug giant competitor. In Europe Teva is already the market leader Daiichi Sankyo bought a controlling stake in Ranbaxy. in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Holland, Shlomo said. The Barr acquisition must still be approved by Barr The acquisition catapults Teva into the top sales tier in shareholders and regulatory authorities in Europe and Germany, Poland, and Russia. The combined companies the United States. Bill Marth, president and CEO of will be active in more than 60 countries. Teva North America, said he did not expect problems. New Jersey-based consultant Edward Thwaite said The enlarged Teva will control about 24 percent of Teva is becoming the 800-pound gorilla of the generic in- the U.S. generics market and 15 percent of the total dustry. “This is a great deal for Teva on the generic side,” U.S. pharmaceutical market. Marth said that is low Thwaite said. “But more important is the branded side compared with consolidation in other industries and of the industry. Barr is one of the few generic companies not likely to attract objections from the Federal Trade that have successfully created a strong branded division.” Commission (FTC). Teva’s market share is even lower Thwaite said Watson is the biggest loser in the deal. in Europe, he added, and should not concern European “Watson and Barr were in a dog fight for the oral con- Union (EU) regulators.
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