Actavis believes the deal will leverage its position in the US market. The agreement will concentrate on controlled release products (CR). CR versions of drugs are useful because they extend product life cycles.
With this acquisition, Actavis hopes to become one of the leading companies in the US market in development of CR products, with over 50 products in the pipeline and over EUR50 million expected to be invested in CR development in 2007.
Additional earn-out payments of up to $125 million are payable over the next three years subject to performance. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in January 2007.
“Our core objective for strategic acquisitions is to find opportunities that extend our product portfolio and pipeline as well as broaden our platform for growth in core markets. Abrika entirely fits that rationale and therefore represents another significant step forward for Actavis in the US, a key market where we already generate a third of our total revenues,” commented Robert Wessman, president and chief executive of Actavis.