Dainippon Sumitomo to buy Sepracor

Japanese drugmaker Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma plans to offer about $2.7 billion to acquire U.S. drugmaker Sepracor, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.

Dainippon would gain Sepracor's insomnia drug Lunesta and asthma drug Xopenex, as well as an experimental epilepsy drug and Sepracor's sales force of more than 1,000.

The purchase is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Japanese drugmakers of U.S. rivals as they seek a bigger foothold in the world's largest pharmaceuticals market.

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