PFIZER's FIRST BITE AT OTC ORAL HEALTHCARE MARKET IS PLAX acquisition for $ 200 mil. Announced Aug. 22, the agreement-in-principle to acquire Plax owner Oral Research Labs follows Pfizer's May 1987 purchase of a 20% equity position in the privately held, New York-based company. "The addition of Plax enables us to enter one of the largest consumer product markets, where we believe our consumer expertise and R&D will expand the business," Pfizer Chairman Edmund Pratt stated. "We expect that oral care products in both the prescription and OTC categories will grow dramatically in the years to come." Sales of Plax oral rinse, marketed for the removal of dental plaque, are currently annualizing in excess of $ 100 mil., Pfizer said. The company's Leeming/Pacquin division has been distributing the pre-brushing oral rinse product in the U.S. since January 1988. Plax is ORL's only marketed product. Plax "will become our largest consumer product and fits well with our strategy to expand our consumer health care business," Pratt added. The acquisition of Plax will put Pfizer's OTC/consumer products business over the $ 500 mil. mark in annual sales. Current sales of Pfizer's OTC/consumer business are annualizing in the $ 350-$ 400 mil. range. The acquisition of ORL defines Pfizer's objective of "reasonable diversification," as outlined at a recent analysts presentation. Pratt explained at the May gathering that the company would continue to emphasize its core prescription drug business, but not at the expense of its other business segments. "They all profit one from another from the interrelationship," Pratt commented. Future growth prospects of the oral rinse market, however, are clouded somewhat by FDA's indecision on plaque and gingivitis treatment/prevention claims. ORL is one of a number of companies to receive notification that the agency is reviewing plaque and gingivitis claims and that products making such claims may be subject to future regulatory action ("The Pink Sheet" Aug. 1, T&G-10). Pfizer said that ORL will be merged into the company's consumer products division following the acquisition's scheduled mid-September closing. Pfizer consumer products business is spread across several fields with the Visine and Visalens lines, the Ben-Gay line of external analgesics, Desitin zinc oxide ointment, Equalactin, an anti-diarrheal, and the sleep aid product Unisom.
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