Merck Joins With Sanofi in Vet Drugs
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 9, 2010
Add to PortfolioTRENTON (AP) — Two of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies said on Tuesday that they were uniting their animal health businesses in a move to become the largest supplier of veterinary medicines.
Sanofi-Aventis, said they would jointly own the business, which would control about 29 percent of the $19 billion annual global market for medicines for pets and livestock. That is well ahead of the current leader, Pfizer’s Fort Dodge unit, which has about 20 percent of the market.
The joint venture will combine Sanofi’s Merial animal health business, the maker of theFrontline flea and tick treatment and Heartgard for preventing heartworm infection, with Merck’s Intervet/Schering-Plough unit, which makes vaccines and drugs mostly for farm animals. Merial operates mostly in North America and South America, while Intervet sells in Europe and emerging markets.
Last year, Merial had sales of about $2.55 billion and Intervet had $2.74 billion, for a total of $5.3 billion.
The chief executive of Merck, Richard T. Clark, noted their products and countries of operation were complementary, adding that anticipated growth would bolster resources for research.
The chief executive of Sanofi-Aventis, Christopher A. Viehbacher, said the animal health market was expected to grow 5 percent a year through 2014, fueled by multiple trends.
The deal, expected to close in the next year, comes amid an unusual level of jockeying in the veterinary medicine business recently.
Pfizer, the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company by revenue, bought Wyeth in October for $68 billion in a diversification strategy that gave it strong businesses in vaccines, other biologic drugs, nonprescription medicines and veterinary medicines. Merck made a similar move, buying Schering-Plough in November for $41 billion for its biologic drugs, consumer health products, veterinary medicines and strong portfolio of drugs in development.
Shares of Sanofi rose 3 cents, to $38.18. Merck shares fell 31 cents, to $37.04.
I found this article and it reminded me of monopolization and Monsanto and WalMart and then my heart vomited out of pity for the way our economy is going. We are losing to giant corporate profits. Already medicine prices are enough to make people want to go to Canada. (Keep in mind how badly Canada fucked up the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Also that they created a luge track so dangerous a man died. No offense to any Canadians who may read this. I love Kilarney.) What is to be done about horizontal integration of companies? Should we do anything? What is at stake?
As I read this (and please watch language in a class blog), I think local. Pfizer has an animal research lab downtown. I imagine that they will close it sometime soon because of the now stiffer competition.
ReplyDeleteI don't perceive this as "losing to giant corporate profits." Owning pets is very expensive and if this means cheaper medication for them, then so be it. If the merging of these two companies means more research on diseases and more effective medicine, then I don't see the negative aspects of it. I really just want my pets to be taken care of. T, E
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