Pfizer says that it has acquired the rights to Polocard, a low-dose aspirin and the leading over-the-counter brand for heart attack prevention in Poland.
The drugs giant has bought the product from ZF Polpharma and financial terms have not been disclosed. Paul Sturman, president of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, said that “we continue to focus on strategic opportunities that will expand our portfolio of leading brands, develop capabilities in high-growth categories and extend our global reach”.
It is clear that the company sees consumer products as a growth area, given that the acquisition of Polocard is just the latest of several investments in the sector in the last two years. One of the most notable of these transactions was a deal inked in August 2012 to pay AstraZeneca some $250 million for the global rights to an OTC version of the stomach acid blockbuster Nexium (esomeprazole).
Pfizer also acquired Alacer, maker of Emergen-C products (the largest-selling branded vitamin C line in the USA) in February last year, and Ferrosan of Denmark’s consumer healthcare business in 2011. The latter purchase brought in an “industry-leading dietary supplements portfolio” and expanded its footprint in the Nordics, Russia and central and eastern Europe.
