Brussels, 21/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 21 November, the European Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of Schwarz Pharma Aktiengesellschaft of Germany by UCB SA of Belgium.
UCB is a publicly traded Belgian company active in the pharmaceutical sector. It is active in the research, development and commercialisation of innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology products in three therapeutic areas: the central nervous system (CNS), inflammation and immunology (including allergies) and oncology. Schwarz is a publicly traded drug development and specialty pharmaceutical company based in Monheim, Germany. It specialises in the manufacture and supply of mainly generic medicines in the areas of cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, urology and CNS diseases. For all these markets, the Commission concluded that the combined market shares of the parties and the small overlaps would not be sufficient to significantly impede effective competition. Intense competition coming from several players with significant market shares and strong reputation will continue to characterise these markets. (cd)