When Novartis International announced in February that it was making a play for two generic drug companies, it was viewed as an acknowledgment that generics could play an increasingly important role in the pharmaceutical business.
In late May, the company received European Commission clearance for its purchase of Hexal AG, the second-largest generics company in Germany. And Novartis hopes to get approval from the Federal Trade Commission by late 2005 to purchase a majority stake in Eon Labs, Inc., an American generics company that has a strategic partnership with Hexal. If both deals close, Novartis would become the world's largest generics manufacturer, displacing Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, which had $4.8 billion in sales in 2004. The plan is to integrate the companies into Novartis' existing generics business, Sandoz, which had sales in 2004 of $3 billion.
Novartis spokesman John Gilardi says the company's further foray into generics broadens its portfolio, allowing ...
