Celltrion's First Global M&A... Acquisition of Takeda Pharmaceutical's Asia-Pacific Business

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[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Celltrion is acquiring the pharmaceutical business division of Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical in the Asia-Pacific region. This acquisition marks Celltrion's first major global merger and acquisition (M&A).

On the 11th, Celltrion announced that it had signed a contract to acquire rights and assets for Takeda Pharmaceutical's Asia-Pacific product portfolio to strengthen the research and development capabilities of its global chemical pharmaceutical business division.

The acquisition price totals 332.4 billion KRW. The acquisition will be carried out through its Singapore subsidiary. Celltrion expects the business acquisition to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

The business Celltrion will acquire from Takeda is the "Primary Care" segment in the Asia-Pacific region. Through this contract, Celltrion will secure patents, trademarks, and sales rights for 18 prescription and over-the-counter drug brands sold in nine markets: Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia.

This product portfolio recorded sales of approximately 140 million USD (about 170 billion KRW) in the 2018 fiscal year in these regions. The acquired product lineup includes prescription drugs such as Nesina, Actos (diabetes treatments), Idalbi (hypertension treatment), as well as over-the-counter drugs like Pyeongwhae-tuben (cold medicine) and Albochil (stomatitis treatment).

To ensure stable product supply, Celltrion plans to use Takeda's manufacturers for the time being. In the future, after technology transfer, the key products acquired will be produced at Celltrion Pharm's cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) production facilities and supplied domestically and internationally.

Celltrion explained that this acquisition provides an opportunity to domestically produce chronic disease treatments such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, which had previously been dependent on imports. A Celltrion official stated, "By strengthening the chemical pharmaceutical product lineup alongside our biopharmaceutical products such as autoimmune disease treatments and anticancer drugs, we expect to leap forward as a truly global integrated pharmaceutical and bio company."

Ki Woo-sung, Vice Chairman and CEO of Celltrion, said, "This acquisition will be a growth foothold for Celltrion to rise as a global integrated pharmaceutical and bio company."

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