Posted on March 3, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Trends
Tagged: Aurobindo , Daiichi Sankyo , Merck BioVentures , Pfizer , Ranbaxy , Sanofi-Aventis , Zentiva

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The deal may not be quite as big, but Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) recognizes the importance of the generic drug market.

Following Sanofi-Aventis SA's $1.9 billion acquisition of Czech drug maker Zentiva NV -- making it the world's No. 11 maker of generic medicines, -- Pfizer signed a deal with India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. to commercialize medicines that are no longer patent protected.

Pfizer acquired rights to 39 generic "solid oral dose products" in the U.S., 20 in Europe, plus 11 in France. The medicines will be commercialized in the U.S. through Pfizer's Greenstone subsidiary. Pfizer said in its announcement, the global non-exclusive market represents about $270 billion with solid oral dose products representing the largest drug category.

Pfizer agreed to pay $68 billion for Wyeth as its pipeline of new drugs is shrinking. Other pharma companies are facing the same problem. An AP article highlights a November deal where Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co. bought a majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., India's largest pharma company and one of the world's biggest generic makers, for $4 billion.

And by December, Merck & Co. said it was launching a new division called Merck BioVentures to make both new and generic biotech drugs, and Eli Lilly and Co.'s chief executive said his company was considering delving into generic biotech drugs, too.

Pfizer has major competition in the generic market. Sanofi moved into the space in a big way with the Zentiva deal, and its chief wants more deals like that one. - Baz Hiralal

Go to the story on Pfizer-Aurobindo
More Zentiva-type deals for Sanofi
Pfizer admires J&J and Abbott biz models



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