Nycomed acquires Altana Pharma

Altana is selling Altana Pharma to Nycomed for approximately $5.7 billion. Nycomed, a private Danish firm that primarily supplies drugs to hospitals in Europe, had sales last year of less than $1 billion; Altana Pharma has businesses in imaging, over-the-counter drugs, and prescription therapeutics and has annual sales of some $3 billion. "Combining Altana Pharma's market strength and research capabilities with Nycomed's strong position within development and in-licensing provides a sustainable future for the new company," says Altana CEO Nikolaus Schweickart. Hakan Bjorklund, CEO of Nycomed, adds that the deal will strengthen Nycomed's position in Europe while giving it a platform in fast growing markets such as Russia, Eastern Europe, and South America. Altana said earlier this year that it was exploring options for its drug unit in order to focus on Altana Chemie, its $1.2 billion-per-year specialty chemical business.