Actavis to buy Forest for $25 billion

Actavis has announced another expansion with the $25 billion acquisition of US pharmaceutical company Forest Laboratories.

If successfully completed, Actavis said, the companies will make combined annual revenues of more than $15 billion in 2015.

Forest makes blood pressure drug Bystolic and Alzheimer’s medicine Namenda. In January, it bought Aptalis Pharma for $2.9 billion, adding a suite of gastrointestinal and cystic fibrosis therapies to its portfolio.

The companies hope to develop franchises in central nervous system, gastroenterology, women’s health, urology and cardiovascular therapeutic areas, and create sustainable portfolios in the infectious disease, respiratory, cystic fibrosis and dermatology categories.

Last May, Dublin-based Actavis announced it would buy Warner Chilcott in a deal worth $5 billion.

Paul Bisaro, chief executive of Actavis, said that the combination of companies creates a “balanced offering of strong brands and generics, [and] a focus on strategic, lower-risk drug development.”

Forest’s chief executive Brent Saunders said the company was a “great fit” with Actavis, adding that the merger will create a “diversified portfolio and geographically balanced business”.

“The acquisition builds on our blockbuster line call strategy in CNS [central nervous system] and GI [gastroenterology] and dramatically extends our reach beyond the US market,” he added.

“By joining forces with Actavis, we become more relevant to key physicians and customers through blockbuster franchises in CNS, Women's Health, GI and Urology, as well as Actavis’ global generics business.”

In November 2013, Actavis and Forest settled a legal dispute related to a patent covering blood pressure drug Bystolic.

The transaction is expected to close in mid-2014 and is subject to regulatory approvals.