Cephalon completes acquisition of generics firm Mepha
pharmafile | April 16, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Cephalon, generics
Specialist pharmaceutical company Cephalon has completed the $615.4 million acquisition of Mepha.
Based in Switzerland, Mepha specialises in using reformulation or new drug delivery devices to enhance post-patent medicines.
Mepha is one of the leading companies in the Swiss generics market, with more than 120 products on the market. The company has subsidiaries in Portugal and the Baltic States, and also markets its products through partnerships in other European countries, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America.
“We are proud to include Mepha as part of the Cephalon family. Mepha has a strong reputation for high quality products and services that deliver value to patients and healthcare professionals,” said Frank Baldino Jr, chairman and chief executive of Cephalon. “This acquisition expands our presence in Europe, and we believe Mepha will contribute to our long-term growth.
Alain Aragues executive vice president and president of Cephalon Europe said: “We are pleased to add Mepha’s experience and expertise, which are critical to our successful development of a balanced business mix in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Cephalon intends to leverage Mepha’s brand recognition as the number one generics company in Switzerland and a prominent generic pharmaceutical company in many other markets.”
Cephalon earned net sales of $2.15 billion in 2009, up 11% and is expected to grow to $2.7 billion this year.
The acquisition will help the US company continue its rapid growth.
Over the past six years, Cephalon has grown more than three-fold in both sales and net income, with particularly strong growth in 2009. Its growth is based on a handful of niche products across a variety of therapy areas.
Cephalon launched a new product, Nuvigil in June 2009, and within six months the product gained a market share of more than 24 percent.
Nuvigil is used to ‘improve wakefulness’ in adults who have excessive sleepiness (ES) associated with treated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), shift work sleep disorder, also known as shift work disorder (SWD) or narcolepsy.
The company recently suffered a disappointment when the FDA refused to grant the drug a licence to treat jet lag.
Sales of muscle relaxant Amrix more than doubled, while Treanda, a treatment for indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, saw sales grow more than threefold.
Cephalon says it is aiming to obtain product approvals in seven consecutive years over the 2009-2015, including line extensions for products such as Nuvigil, Fentora, and Treanda.
Effentora was launched the UK, Ireland, Germany Italy and Austria in 2009, while the company also opened new offices in China and strengthened its presence in Japan.
Effentora is indicated for the treatment of breakthrough pain (BTP) in adults with cancer who are already receiving maintenance opioid therapy for chronic cancer pain.
Andrew McConaghie
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