Brussels, 17/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved the purchase of Du Pont Pharmaceuticals Company by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), considering that the acquisition would only lead to a slight increase in market share for BMS and would not alter its global position.
BMS is currently the world's number five in pharmaceutical products, in which it is active, notably, in the oncology, cardiovascular and diabetes treatment sectors. Du Pont, 100% subsidiary of E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company - notably active in fields such as AIDS, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory and neurological diseases - is only a small-time player on the world pharmaceutical market (it ranks number 42).
The Commission noted that the activities of the two companies were largely complementary, and that the operation would create overlaps notably regarding HIV/AIDS antivirals, plain ACE inhibitors (C9A) and combination ACE inhibitors (CPB). Regarding AIDS, the investigation showed that the HIV/AIDS antivirals sector was a fast moving area where drugs and treatment regimens change rapidly (A combination treatment f 3 to 4 different drugs is typically used and the treatment regimen must be changed every 11 to 14 months) and that the new entity would face strong competition from other firms- especially GlaxoSmithKline - which market the existing medicines and are developing competing compounds.