Barr acquires Duramed - UPDATE

Barr Laboratories has signed a definitive agreement to acquire DuramedPharmaceuticals in a transaction that is being valued by observers at around $590 million. When completed, the companies said, the merger will create a firm with revenues of $700 million. Barr said that the transaction is expected to be neutral to earnings in fiscal 2002 and accretive thereafter. Barr's fiscal year ends on June 30, and the acquisition is expected to close late in the company's fiscal first quarter ending September 30.

Barr said that the new entity will offer a complete line of oral contraceptive products and a strong pipeline of generic and proprietary oncology and female health care treatments. The firm noted that it will also have "a well-financed R&D capability and significant expertise in legal, regulatory and government affairs activities." Bruce Downey, Barr's chief executive, added that his company is inheriting a strong sales force which has been instrumental in successfully marketing Cenestin (conjugated estrogens), a generic version of Wyeth-Ayerst's Premarin, and will provide a platform for the launch of Barr's own female health care products.

120 current products