Chain Drug Review - Boehringer to buy Zantac
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. is buying the Zantac brand from Johnson & Johnson for $505.5 million.
Sale of the nonprescription heartburn drug is contingent on J&J completing its planned acquisition of the consumer health business of Pfizer Inc.
“Zantac is an excellent strategic fit,” says J. Martin Carroll, president and chief executive officer of Boehringer Ingelheim, noting that it complements the company’s O-T-C line.
In June J&J and Pfizer announced that the former would pay $16.6 billion for Pfizer’s nonprescription drugs and consumer health products business.
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That deal is expected to close by the end of the year, and the Zantac transaction is intended to clear the Pfizer purchase, explains a J&J spokesman.
“Zantac is an excellent consumer brand with a strong market position and a bright future,” says Patrick Henning, vice president of sales and marketing for Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer health care unit.
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