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In Brief

Watson adds Actavis for $5.6 bil.; Recordati buys OTCs in Germany; DoJ weighs in on Plan B case; NARC rebranded as ASRC; Korean lawmakers miss another chance on OTC bill; more news In Brief.

Allergan PLC becomes the world’s third-largest generics firm with its $5.60 billion acquisition of Iceland-based Actavis, announced April 25. The deal will expand substantially Watson’s global reach; once it closes, 40% of the Parsippany, N.J., company’s revenues will come from outside the U.S., compared to 16% now. Actavis’ portfolio has more than 830 generic products, and its U.S. subsidiary in Morristown, N.J., manufactures OTCs including bacitracin zinc ointment and children’s ibuprofen oral suspension. Watson is restructuring its leadership to support the Actavis addition. Among the personnel moves, Sigurdur Oli Olafsson, executive VP of global generics, is named president of global generics April 27.

Recordati S.p.A. adds six OTC brands to its portfolio with acquisitions from Johnson & Johnsonsubsidiaries Cilag GmbH and McNeil...

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