Japan's Zeria buys Swiss firm Tillotts for $128 million

Japanese drugmaker Zeria Pharmaceutical has entered into an agreement  to acquire Swiss firm Tillotts Pharma, in a deal valuing the latter at around $128 million and giving the former rights to drugs for the treatment of rectum and colon ulcers.

Under the terms of the deal, Zeria will get rights to sell the drug Asacol  (mesalamine) in 53 countries in Europe and the Middle East, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement. The agreement with closely held Tillotts, excluding the USA, Germany and seven other markets, Zeria said.

Revenue in the global market for inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis totals about 240 billion yen ($2.5 billion) a year, Shigeru Moriyama, a Zeria spokesman, told Bloomberg news  by telephone from Tokyo. Asacol is sold by Procter & Gamble in the USA, Mr Moriyama said.