Procter & Gamble Co., has agreed to sell Ajinomoto Co. the rights to its Japanese osteoporosis drug for $210 million, days after reports emerged that the consumer products maker is in talks to sell off its pharmaceutical business.
The deal gives the Japanese company the rights to research, develop, manufacture and sell the drug, a licensed product exclusive to the Japanese market, Ajinomoto said in a statement. The drug is marketed under the brand name Actonel.
The deal follows reports that P&G is in discussions to sell its pharmaceuticals business to the investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and to Warner Chilcott Ltd., a maker of specialty drugs. The selling price was pegged at $3 billion. P&G’s total pharmaceutical business generates sales of an estimated $2.2 million.
The Business Courier reported in December that Cincinnati-based P&G was considering selling off some or all of its drug brands. The pharmaceutical business is headquartered in Mason, where it employs more than 500 of its 2,700 pharmaceuticals employees worldwide.
Cincinnati-based P&G (NYSE: PG) is the world’s largest consumer products maker. It will report its fiscal fourth quarter and annual earnings on Aug. 4.
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