Daiichi Sankyo acquires PharmaForce; Alcon dissatisfied with Novartis offer

Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo's US unit, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, has acquired PharmaForce, a privately-held, fully integrated specialty injectable pharmaceutical company based in Ohio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was cleared by the US Federal Trade Commission under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act, Luitpold purchased 100% of PharmaForce stock and the closing was completed on December 29, 2009. The PharmaForce product line will be marketed by Luitpold's subsidiary, American Regent.

PharmaForce, founded in 1999, is focused on the manufacture, development and marketing of difficult to manufacture sterile products and sole source or first-to-market generic injectable products. The company operates out of three facilities, including a 40,000 sq ft cGMP compliant sterile manufacturing facility, a 20,000 sq ft R&D facility, and a 20,000 sq ft facility targeted for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing.