Warner Chilcott will pay Procter & Gamble $3.1 billion for the consumer products giant’s prescription drug division, including Actonel, for osteoporosis, and Asacol HD, for ulcerative colitis.
The deal gives Warner Chilcott, an Irish firm specializing in derm and women’s health treatments, a small and aging but profitable portfolio of drugs that generated revenues of around $2.3 billion and net income of around $540 million for the year to June 30. Warner Chilcott also expands its presence in specialty markets and gets access to new physician offices in 14 countries. Most of the unit’s 2,300 employees are expected to move to Warner Chilcott, tripling the size of the company’s staff.
“Keeping the sales force focused is the most critical element of the plan,” said Warner Chilcott president and CEO Roger Boissonneault, who noted that in addition to expanding the company’s US and European footprint, the deal adds gastroenterology to the firm’s portfolio and bolsters its urology sales force ahead of its planned launch into the market for erectile dysfunction drugs.
