Novartis acquires leading British pharmaceutical company

Novartis has announced it is to take over a leading British generic drugs company, Lagap Pharmaceuticals. The Basel-based pharmaceutical concern said its latest acquisition would give it a foothold in Europe's fourth-largest drugs' market.

In a statement on Monday, Novartis Generics said it had completed its takeover of Lagap from Adcock Ingram Ltd. of South Africa. It did not say how much the deal was worth.

Lagap, based in Hampshire, markets generic drugs, which are no longer covered by patents. The company last year achieved sales of £27 million (SFr67 million) and employs about 70 people.

“As a global leader in generics, our strategic goal is to be present in every major pharmaceuticals market,” said Oswald Sellemond, head of Novartis Generics.

“The UK is the fourth-largest European pharmaceuticals market and is the number two generics market in Europe,” he added. “The acquisition of Lagap provides us a successful entry into the British generics market.”

Novartis Generics has completed a number of acquisitions over the past 12 months, including Grandis of Germany, Australia’s SBPA and the Argentinian Labinca company.

Last year Novartis Generics recorded a turnover of SFr1.9 billion.

swissinfo with agencies