Last week saw the announcement of an acquisition offer by Iceland-based generic drug maker Actavis Group for Pliva, a generic drug maker in Croatia. The deal, for $1.6 billion, would make Actavis the third largest generic drug maker in the world (after Teva and Novartis).
Pliva recently sold off its research and development division to GSK, in order to concentrate on the generic drug business.
Actavis has been shopping over the past few years, acquiring the US's Amide, Czech Pharma Avalanche, Hungary's Keri Pharma, Bulgaria's Higia, and India's Lotus Laboartories in 2005, along with the human generics business of the US's Alpharma.
Actavis changed its name from Pharmaco in 2004. In the US, generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it will buy rival Andrx Corp. for $1.9 billion. The deal will create the US's #3 generic drug maker based on prescriptions dispensed.
These new deals join such big recent deals as last year's acquisition by Novartis of Hexal and Eon Labs for $8.3 billion, and Teva's acquisition of Ivax Corp. for $7.4 billion.
Insiders view: inevitable, given the $82 billion prize of big molecules coming off patent between 2002 and 2007. That's a feeding frenzy and the bigger the shark the bigger the meal!
Source: Oligopoly Watch
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