International Business

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved Pfizer’s Ixifi (infliximab-qbtx), the company’s second approved biosimilar of Janssen’s Remicade. The biosimilar was approved for all of Remicade’s indications, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, among others.

The approval follows the April 2016 launch of its first Remicade biosimilar Inflectra. According to reports, Pfizer has said it has no plans to launch Ixifi in the United States.

Unilever has announced an agreement to acquire Schmidt’s Naturals. The Portland, Ore.-based personal care line, founded in 2010 by Jamie Schmidt, began as a deodorant line, which has expanded its offerings to include bar soap and toothpaste.

Supervalu has completed the previously announced acquisition of Associated Grocers of Florida, in a transaction valued at approximately $193 million. This marks the second completed acquisition for Minneapolis-based Supervalu whose national distribution center continues to expand with annual sales of approximately $560 million reported in its last fiscal year.

It has been announced that Coca-Cola has elected a new senior vice president and president of Coca-Cola North America, or CCNA. James L. “Jim” Dinkins, the current president of the Minute Maid business unit and chief retail office of CCNA, will be taking over for J. Alexander “Sandy” Douglas Jr., who previously announced his retirement.

Ahold Delhaize on Thursday named Kevin Holt CEO of its newly minted Ahold Delhaize USA division, which will serve as the parent company for all of Ahold Delhaize's U.S. companies, including its local brands, Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, Giant/Martin's and Peapod, as well as Retail Business Services, the U.S. shared services company providing support to the brands.

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Wednesday extended its retail pharmacy acumen into China by taking a 40% stake in Sinopharm Holding GuoDa Drugstores in a deal worth approximately $416 million.

The discounter on Wednesday announced that it is changing its legal name from Wal-Mart Stores to Walmart Inc., effective Feb. 1, 2018. The move reflects the chain’s growing emphasis on e-commerce and its positioning as a retailer with integrated online and offline operations.