Articles

By Lori Clapper, Web Editor

Another potential merger pits generic against brand-name in a quest to win over German generic drugmaker Ratiopharm GmbH. A story in the New York Times claims that Pfizer, the world's largest brand-name drugmaker, may have bid as much as $4.1 billion for Ratiopharm. Also in the running are Teva Pharmaceutical Company, one of the largest generic manufacturers in the world, and Actavis, a generic drugmaker out of Iceland.

None of the bidding companies would comment on the speculation. According to a Reuters report, however, executives from Pfizer visited Ratiopharm last Friday to present their proposal. Teva has also met with Ratiopharm officials. Analysts say Pfizer, Teva, and Actavis each have their own reasons for their interest in Ratiopharm. David M. Steinbert, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, says that Ratiopharm is "clearly the crown jewel in the German generics market. For any interested party, for Europe, it's a megadeal."

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