Teva’s proposed $6.80 billion acquisition of Cephalon has moved a step nearer after the latter’s shareholders voted to approve the deal.
The transaction is still under review by the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission. Last month, the latter asked both Teva and Cephalon for additional information, known as a ‘second request’, which extends the waiting period for clearance of the buy until thirty days after the parties have “substantially complied with the request”.
Nevertheless, the firms expect the deal to be completed by the third quarter. The acquisition will significantly expand Teva’s branded business, which is dominated by the multiple-sclerosis blockbuster Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), adding Cephalon’s sleep disorder drug Provigil (modanafil) and its follow-up long-acting drug Nuvigil (armodafinil), the chemotherapy drug Treanda (bendamustine) and the cancer painkiller Fentora (fentanyl buccal).
One deal that has completed is Teva’s $943-million acquisition of Taiyo, the third largest generics manufacturer in Japan which had sales of $530 million in 2010.
Taiyo brings to Teva “a portfolio of over 550 products and a strong presence in all major channels in the Japanese pharmaceutical market”. The Israeli drugmaker also gains access to “a strong R&D team, local regulatory expertise and a state-of-the-art production facility”.
Teva said that following the acquisition, it expects to reach $1 billion in sales in Japan, ahead of its original 2015 target. Generic penetration is fairly low in Japan, about 23%, but the government there has expressed its intention to increase that figure to 30% by the end of 2012.
