Perrigo has announced it will acquire a portfolio of branded over-the-counter drugs the UK’s largest pharmaceutical producer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Swiss drugs giant Novartis must divest in exchange for regulatory approval of their plans to merge their consumer healthcare activities.

The Ireland-domiciled generics maker formerly based in the US will acquire the assets in an all-cash transaction for which no financial terms have been disclosed.

Products set to change ownership include GSK's NiQuitin nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) business, primarily in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Brazil, and Novartis's legacy Australian NRT business, including the Nicotinell brand.

The portfolio also includes assorted OTC brands including Coldrex (cold and flu treatment) across the EEA in addition to Panodil (pain relief), Nezeril (nasal decongestant),and Nasin (nasal decongestant) products in Sweden.

Perrigo also will take Novartis's legacy cold sore management products primarily in the EEA, marketed under the brand names Vectavir, Pencivir, Fenivir, Fenlips and Vectatone.

Joseph C. Papa, CEO of Perrigo, said the buy demonstrates the company’s ability to execute its Base Plus Plus Plus strategy, in which it makes selective, accretive transactions to expand its durable base business.

“We are building on the global platform we established with the Omega Pharma acquisition to capture an even greater share of the $30 billion European OTC market opportunity with several well-established, complementary brands that bolster our OTC product portfolio,” Papa said.

Following Omega Pharma's “proven approach to brand building,” Papa said the company is “committed to making investments in these brands to grow their market positions in key geographies.”

Toward this goal, Perrigo will be able to leverage Omega's European commercial infrastructure, pan-European distribution network, strong brand-building capabilities, and exceptional management team, the CEO added.

The Ireland-based drugmaker also recently acquired European OTC dermatological product, Vitasil. “With our global platform in place and our robust balance sheet, we are ideally positioned to execute immediately accretive deals, such as this one, that will have a multiplier effect on our growth.” Papa asserted.

Perrigo’s acquisition drive is seen by many drug market commentators as an attempt to build substance and ward off the advances of Netherlands-based drugmaker Mylan, which is pursuing the company while itself being pursued by Israeli generics giant Teva. (dw)