Valeant may pull out of Russian Natur Produkt acquisition

According to local sources in Russia, acquisitive Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals (TSX: VRX) is considering the possibility of terminating the agreement with the Russian financial conglomerate Renova to buy Natur Produkt International, one of Russia’s largest producers of drugs, vitamins and nutritional supplements for $180 million announced earlier this year (The Pharma Letter March 27).

The main reason for this could be the ongoing trials of Nature Produkt with a local competitor Protek for the use of the cough/cold drug AntiGrippin. According to Russian analysts, this drug currently accounts for about half of the company's sales, so Valeant Pharmaceuticals can require a review of the transaction price.

According to the Russian Kommersant business paper, citing its own sources in the Russian pharmaceutical market, Valeant has stopped the process of acquisition and may even reverse its decision to buy the Russian company.