Procter & Gamble To Expand Drugs Business

Prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been identified as one of the most important growth sources for US consumer company Procter & Gamble over the next few decades. The company has just officially opened a new health care research center near Cincinnati, where P&G houses its headquarters, which is 1.3 million square feet in size and represents an investment of $280 million.

John Pepper, P&G's recently-appointed chairman and chief executive, said the new center will help the firm double its over-the-counter and prescription drug business from the $3 billion it stands at now by the end of the decade. It will double again by the year 2010, he says. Health care turnover is expected to increase from 10% of P&G's total sales to between 15% and 20%.

The firm currently spends around $400 million annually on health care research, from a group R&D budget of $1.1 billion per year, a company spokesperson told the Marketletter.