Bristol-Myers Squibb Sells French Consumer Health Unit UPSA To Taisho For $1.6bn

Bristol-Myers Squibb has joined the big pharma trend of divesting non-core assets to focus on high-margin prescription drugs by agreeing to sell over-the-counter drugs business UPSA for $1.6bn to Japanese healthcare firm Taisho Pharmaceutical.

Store shelving
Buying OTC Unit UPSA From BMS will complement Taisho’s product portfolio • Source: Shutterstock

Six months after effectively putting its French over-the-counter drugs business UPSA up for sale, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has agreed to sell it to Japan-based healthcare group Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $1.6bn and thereby allow the US big pharma to concentrate on developing and selling lucrative prescription drugs, particularly for cancer.

The acquisition of UPSA will be complementary to Taisho’s product portfolio and will allow it to establish a platform in...

Scrip Podcast

Keep up with the top pharma business news of the week. On the go.

Scrip brings you a weekly bulletin of top picks.

More from Deals

More from Business

  • How A New Healthcare Dialogue Is Driving Market Access In Mexico

    Companies stand a better chance of securing public reimbursement in Mexico for innovative medicines if they understand changing approaches to healthcare. The shift means the emergence of managed entry agreements and a focus on economic impact, explains AMIIF, Mexico's research-based pharmaceutical industry association.

  • How Novartis Is Elevating CVD Outcomes, Driving ‘Personalized Access’ In APMA

    Novartis’s APMA chief outlines the company’s tailored approach to deliver long-term outcomes, novel access solutions via innovative financing options and shape the CVD disease ecosystem in the extraordinarily diverse region. Partnering to build AI infrastructure is another key prong.

  • India Rare Diseases: Court Shows Path For Policy Action, Funding, Price Issues-- Test-2

    A court order encompassing funding, drug pricing, clinical trials and overall policy implementation aspects is expected to bring about a paradigm shift in the treatment of rare diseases in India. Sarepta, Roche and Sanofi are among the key players that have been part of pricing discussions.