Brussels, 19/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the planned acquisition of Fournier, a French pharmaceutical company by Solvay, a Belgian chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant operating in virtually all EEA states and in 50 countries worldwide, specialising in chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Fournier is a family-owned pharmaceutical company and specialises in products targeting lipid disorders, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The Commission's investigation focussed on four affected product markets: the A6A (“laxatives”) and A9A (“digestives, including enzymes”) over-the-counter (OTC) markets in Sweden and the C2A (“anti-adrenergic agents”) and G3C (“oestrogen”) markets in France for prescription pharmaceuticals. The Commission also reviewed the parties' pipeline products' (currently at an advanced stage of development). The examination demonstrated that the companies' activities were largely complementary and that they faced competition from various players in Europe, including those areas where they overlapped.