Allergan, Valeant among big pharma companies in acquisition talks

Allergan is talking with Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson about whether they want to counter an unsolicited $45.7 billion offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals to acquire Allergan, according to news reports from Bloomberg.com.

Allergan, which makes cosmetic products including Botox, Juvéderm and Latisse, reportedly received the offer April 22 from Valeant, which makes Retin-A Micro and other dermatology prescription drugs, Bloomberg.com reports.

“Valeant and Pershing Square believe that the combination of the two companies is extremely compelling for both Allergan and Valeant shareholders and will create an unrivaled platform for growth and value creation in healthcare,” according to a Valeant news release.

On the same day as Valeant’s offer, Novartis announced multibillion dollar deals with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Eli Lilly. GSK owns Stiefel, which manufacturers several skincare products. The Novartis deals include the acquisition of GSK’s oncology products - including dabrafenib and trametinib, which recently were approved by the FDA as a combined use for the treatment of melanoma. The deal also includes combination of Novartis’ over-the-counter business with GSK’s, divesting Novartis’ vaccines - with the exception of influenza vaccines - to GSK and divesting Novartis’ animal health unit to Eli Lilly.

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