Novartis to hold talks to buy generics maker Amneal

Bloomberg

Novartis AG is in talks to
acquire US generic-drugs maker Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC as the Swiss health-care company seeks to bolster its Sandoz business amid consolidation in the industry, according to people familiar with the matter.
Novartis and Amneal may reach an agreement soon, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No final decision has been made and talks could still fall apart or closely held Amneal could attract other suitors, the people said.
Amneal, founded in 2002, makes the antiviral acyclovir to treat bouts of herpes as
well as gabapentin for epilepsy and pain.
A sale could value the company at as much as $8 billion depending on the structure of the deal, two of the people said, though negotiations are ongoing. Amneal is working with an adviser as it explores options, two of the people
said. Representatives for Novartis and Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Amneal declined to comment.
Novartis shares dropped 1 percent to 71.75 Swiss francs at 1:04 p.m. in Zurich trading. The stock has dropped almost 17 percent so far this year.

DIFFICULT TIME
The acquisition would extend a wave of mergers that has redefined the industry. In August, Teva completed its $40.5 billion purchase of a division from Allergan Plc to once again become the world’s biggest maker of generics. It’s also a difficult time for drugmakers as US prosecutors bear down on generics companies in a sweeping criminal investigation into suspected price collusion. Novartis’s Sandoz unit got a US Justice Department subpoena in March requesting documents related to marketing and pricing of copycat medicines.
Amneal is a family-owned business led by co-founders Chintu and Chirag Patel, according to its website. It counts more than 4,000 employees and operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia. Its portfolio of generic treatments includes about 115 approved molecules in the US in a range of therapeutic areas.
The company has also
challenged patents held by
Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for blockbu-
ster multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc’s narcolepsy drug Xyrem.