Pfizer's Viagra-maker unit combining with EpiPen-maker Mylan: What to know
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc agreed Monday to spin off its generic drugs business and combine it with generic drug maker Mylan, a move that brings blockbuster treatments Viagra, EpiPen and Lipitor under one umbrella.
The deal will create a giant global seller of lower-priced medicines.
The new company will be based in the United States and incorporated in Delaware. It will be led by Michael Goettler, president of Pfizer’s generics unit, Upjohn, which makes Viagra, Lipitor and Celebrex.
Mylan said CEO Heather Bresch, who took the helm in 2012 and faced intense regulatory scrutiny for the high price of EpiPen, will retire after the deal closes and Chairman Robert Coury will become the executive chairman of the new company. Coury promised “a 180-degree turn” in the company’s direction during a conference call Monday.
Mylan NL CEO Heather Bresch waits to testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Rising Price of EpiPens at the Capitol in Washington, U.S. September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RTSOUBL
Pfizer shareholders will own 57 percent of the new company and Mylan shareholders the rest. Each Mylan share will be converted into one share of the new company under the all-stock deal.
Change could be good for Mylan investors, as the stock is down nearly 40 percent from where it was two years ago and 27 percent so far this year, even after an 8 percent boost that came Monday after the deal was announced.
Reuters contributed to this report.