Dr Reddy's Laboratories announced that it has closed
the acquisition of Habitrol brand, an over-the-counter nicotine replacement
therapy transdermal patch, from Novartis Consumer Health Inc.
This follows issuance of the proposed consent order
from the US Federal Trade Commission last month. Habitrol had US sales of more
than $58 million, according to the earlier reports.
The company had earlier entered into an asset
purchase agreement with Novartis to acquire the tittle and rights of Habitrol
brand and to market the product in the US market, the company said in a
statement. Dr Reddy's will begin product shipments shortly, it
added.
Novartis' decision to handover the brand came after its
merger deal with GlaxoSmithKline. Citing the fact that Novartis and
GlaxoSmithKline are the only companies marketing the nicotine patch product in
the US, the FTC maintained the merger of their consumer healthcare business
would make it difficult for other companies to bring new products of similar
nature into the market.
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