European Commission approves Pfizer’s buyout of Hospira
The European Commission has approved US pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s $17 billion acquisition of Hospira, a move that will see Pfizer acquire the drugs company’s biosimilar portfolio.
Pfizer announced on Tuesday, August 4, that the commission had approved the deal.
After Pfizer revealed in February this year that it had agreed to buy Hospira, EU regulators said they were concerned that the combined company would face “insufficient competitive pressure from the remaining players in the corresponding markets”.
The commission added that the new company might discontinue production of Hospira’s Inflectra (infliximab), a biosimilar version of Janssen Biotech’s drug Remicade and a popular medication for treating Crohn’s disease.
However, commitments offered by the companies addressed these concerns and the acquisition is allowed to take place, the commission said.
Pfizer, according to the commission, agreed to “full divestment of the development, manufacturing and marketing rights of Inflectra (and other sterile injectables) including appropriate intellectual property, technology and know-how”.
Ian Read, chair of Pfizer, said: “We are pleased to have achieved a significant milestone for Pfizer’s pending acquisition of Hospira with the EC’s approval of the transaction.
“We continue to work cooperatively with the regulatory agencies to obtain the requisite approvals, and continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2015.”
Under its Merger Regulation, the commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions and to prevent concentrations that would “significantly impede effective competition” in the European Economic Area.
As LSIPR reported in February, Pfizer will purchase shares in Hospira for $90 each, making the deal worth $17 billion in total.
As part of the deal, Pfizer will boost its global established pharmaceutical unit with Hospira’s biosimilar portfolio.
Pfizer said it believes the deal will “build a broad portfolio of biosimilars in its therapeutic areas of strength”.
As well as Inflectra, another drug in Hospira’s biosimilar portfolio is Retacrit (epoetin alfa), used to treat patients with a low red blood cell count. Retacrit is a biosimilar version of Epogen, developed by Amgen.
