Another Japanese Drugmaker Makes Another Foreign Acquisition


Published On: September 4th, 2009

lunestaOne more Japanese drugmaker is making a big buy overseas: Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma said it’s planning to pay $2.6 billion for Massachusetts-based Sepracor, which sells the sleeping pill Lunesta.

The agreement announced by both companies today is the latest effort by Japan’s pharamaceutical industry — Dainippon is the country’s No. 7 drug maker by sales –- to reach overseas to replace revenue streams as patents expire on domestic products. Earlier deals have included Takeda spending almost $9 billion to buy Millennium and Eisai shelling out nearly $4 billion for MGI Pharma.

Sepracor has patent issues of its own, however, as Lunesta and another big seller, the asthma treatment Xopenex, are set to lose protection in the next few years, notes Dow Jones Newswires. Lunesta’s sales already have been hurt by competition from generic versions of Sanofi-Aventis’s Ambien.

Still, Dainippon plans to seek U.S. approval soon for its antipsychotic drug Lurasidone. And Sepracor’s U.S. presence could help the company market the drug in this country.

Still, there are skeptics about the wisdom of the deal — as noted here, the company will have to take out a bridge loan for more than $2 billion to pay for the deal.

Photo: Bloomberg News

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Another Japanese Drugmaker Makes Another Foreign Acquisition

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