EU approves AstraZeneca merger plan
15 Jan 2000
The European Union has given its approval to the £4.3billion merger of Zeneca with Astra. The main condition put on the approval was the return of the rights to Chirocaine, a local anaesthetic, to the company which originally developed it, Chiroscience, because of Astra's strength in local anaesthetics.
The EU has also demanded that Zeneca should arrange for a third party to distribute its beta-blocker Tenormin in Sweden and Norway, and that Astra should sell off its European beta blocker/diuretic dual combination business.
The approval came earlier than expected, especially as EU competition commissioner Karel van Miert had raised questions about the merger. `Achieving EU sign-off so quickly reflects the complimentarity of the product portfolios and research activity of the two groups,' commented Tom McKillop, chief executive-designate of AstraZeneca.
