Ipsen to acquire Five Over-the-Counter Drugs from Sanofi for 83 million euros

Sanofi agreed to sell some over-the-counter products to Ipsen SA as it edges closer to completing a 22.8 billion-euro ($24.2 billion) asset swap with Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Ipsen will pay 83 million euros for five products including Prontalgine, a painkiller.

In August, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer health business by Sanofi, pending the sale of a number of treatments in some western and eastern European countries. The assets were mostly treatments that can be bought without the prescription of a doctor, known as OTC products.
Sanofi agreed in June to an asset swap with Boehringer to bolster the French drugmaker’s OTC business. As part of the deal, Sanofi agreed to trade its Merial animal-health business, valued at 11.4 billion euros, for Boehringer’s 6.7 billion-euro consumer-health operation. Closely-held Boehringer also agreed to pay Sanofi 4.7 billion euros in cash.
Beyond Sanofi’s disposal, Boehringer Ingelheim also had to sell some animal-health assets to win antitrust approval, including a portfolio of swine and bovine vaccines to France’s Ceva Sante Animale and some pet vaccines to Eli Lilly & Co.