Pfizer gets EU approval for Hospira acquisition

BRUSSELS — Pfizer today announced that it had received approval from under the European Union Merger Regulation by the European commission for its acquisition of Hospira. The approval of the acquisition— valued at $17 billion when it was announced in February — is based on Pfizer divesting certain products from its portfolio. 

 

Pfizer will divest some of its portfolio of sterile injectables, as well as the infliximab biosimilar that it had been developing. The commission said its decision was aimed at removing areas of concern over competition where Hospira’s and Pfizer’s portfolio’s overlapped.

 

"This is not just about keeping prices low for patients and healthcare services,” Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. “We have also made sure that the merger of Pfizer/Hospira does not stand in the way of the research and development of medication that could have huge benefits for society.”

 

The approval is a step toward closing the acquisition before 2016. 

 

“We are pleased to have achieved a significant milestone for Pfizer’s pending acquisition of Hospira with the EC’s approval of the transaction,” said Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer, Pfizer. “We continue to work cooperatively with the regulatory agencies to obtain the requisite approvals, and continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2015.”