Medeva Acquires Fisons' US Facility From R-PR

The rumor of a major US divestment by French chemical and pharmaceutical group Rhone-Poulenc was confirmed as the Marketletter went to press, with the company's pharmaceutical unit Rhone-Poulenc Rorer announcing that Medeva of the UK is to acquire from it the former Fisons manufacturing facility at Rochester, New York, in the USA, for $370 million. Medeva will also acquire from R-PR a group of French pharmaceutical products for $30 million in cash.

The Rochester business includes 10 pharmaceutical products with sales of $99.7 million in 1995, and operating profit of $54.4 million. The products are in the respiratory, diuretic and appetite suppression fields. Medeva commented that the acquisition will provide an opportunity to restructure some of its US operations.

Medeva is also purchasing rights to R-PR's patented pennkinetic technology, which enables the controlled release of active ingredients in products by means of a proprietary resin formulation. The firm said that the acquisition will help to build a base for the introduction of the multi-dose dry powder inhalers to which Medeva acquired European distribution rights earlier this year (Marketletter February 26).