Zoe Bollinger
Dec 2, 2014

Japan's Otsuka to buy Avanir for $3.5 billion ahead of patent cliff

The deal, Otsuka's biggest according to Thomson Reuters data, comes as the company aims to beef up its product pipeline ahead of a so-called "patent cliff" after April 2015, when its U.S. patent for schizophrenia drug Abilify expires and opens the way to generic competition.

Japan's Otsuka to buy Avanir for $3.5 billion ahead of patent cliff | Reuters
(Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd plans to buy U.S.-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $3.5 billion to expand its neurologic drug portfolio ahead of an expiration of a key drug