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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (963)	10/27/1998 2:36:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

Pharmacia & Upjohn May Acquire to Add Products: Bloomberg Forum Bloomberg News October 27, 1998, 2:12 p.m. ET Pharmacia & Upjohn May Acquire to Add Products: Bloomberg Forum Bridgewater, New Jersey, Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., the 10th-largest U.S. drugmaker, said it may make acquisitions to add products as new executives continue with their ''turnaround'' of the Swedish-American company. Pharmacia still is working through a transformation that started with the 1995 merger of Sweden's Pharmacia AB and Upjohn Co., the drugmaker perhaps best known for the antibaldness treatment Rogaine. The company this year moved its headquarters to Bridgewater, New Jersey, from the U.K. While more consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry is inevitable, Pharmacia is more likely to make a purchase to obtain new drug candidates and products than to become involved in another combination soon with a large drugmaker, said Chief Executive Fred Hassan. ''We do not see the need for a merger in near future; however, we remain opportunistic in terms of acquisition possibilities, and if the right situation develops, we will certainly look at it,'' Hassan told the Bloomberg Forum. So far this year, three possible combinations of drugmakers ended without success. American Home Products Corp. and Monsanto Co. earlier this month called off a planned $35 billion merger. American Home in January disclosed merger talks with SmithKline Beecham Plc, that would end without an agreement. SmithKline then pursued talks with Glaxo Wellcome Plc and again failed to come to an agreement. Expectations for 1998 At this point, Pharmacia may be able to look to its own products and ones licensed from other drugmakers to spur growth, Hassan said. In 1997, Pharmacia's profit before charges fell 26 percent to $739 million, or $1.41 a share. This year, Pharmacia expects a ''double-digit'' increase in profit. ''We're on track as far as that goal is concerned for this year,'' Hassan said. Pharmacia also could have double-digit earnings growth next year, Hassan said. The company is expected to earn $1.58 a share in 1998 and $1.80 in 1999, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp. Pharmacia is expected to report third-quarter earnings per share of 41 cents Thursday, up from 35 cents a year earlier. Some of this growth is coming from Pharmacia's new products, such as the incontinence treatment Detrol and glaucoma drug Xalatan. Pharmacia also is increasing its U.S. sales force to about 1,800 representatives from 1,200. At the same time, it's cut the high turnover rate among the representatives to about 5 percent from as high as 25 percent last year, Hassan said. Hassan has brought in new executives, such as its chief financial officer, Christopher Coughlin, a former Nabisco executive. To lead pharmaceutical operations, Pharmacia hired Timothy Rothwell, former president of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer's pharmaceuticals unit. Turnaround Plan These changes are part of the ''turnaround'' Hassan planned after becoming CEO last year. A former top executive at American Home Products, Hassan also said he will Pharmacia to find more of its products through alliances. Pharmacia has agreed to market Bayer AG's Glyset, a diabetes drug that slows the digestion process. Glyset reduces the jump in blood-sugar levels normally seen in diabetic patients after a meal. Pharmacia also has bought rights to an experimental diabetes drug from Japan Tobacco Inc. Pharmacia could file next year for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a new antibiotic, linezolid, a drug that could help doctors treat patients with bacteria that are able to resist even the strongest of currently approved drugs. Linezolid was developed in Pharmacia's Michigan laboratories. The company's research efforts will remain in Michigan and sites in Sweden and Italy even as Pharmacia expands its holdings in New Jersey. In addition to the world headquarters in Bridgewater, Pharmacia also will have a ''campus'' in a renovated 550,000- square-foot office complex in the nearby community of Peapack- Gladstone. Its offices aren't far from the headquarters of American Home and other rival drugmakers, such as Merck & Co., Warner-Lambert Co., Schering-Plough Corp. and Johnson & Johnson. ''We're now firmly established in New Jersey,' Hassan said. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/jcn