Pfizer Animal Health to be expanded by King takeover

Pfizer Animal Health is to see an expansion of its business assets as a result of parent company Pfizer's planned takeover of King Pharmaceuticals.

The healthcare giant has agreed a $3.6 billion (2.3 billion pounds) deal to acquire King, a transaction which will also involve the purchase of the animal health business Alpharma.

This business unit specialises in the development, manufacturing and sale of pharmaceutical products for food-producing animals, including a number of feed additive agents for a diverse range of species.

Pfizer expects that its natural alignment with King Pharmaceuticals' portfolio will allow their respective assets to be seamlessly combined.

This comes after Pfizer Animal Health added a wide array of new products to its range last year following the merger between Pfizer and Wyeth.

The deal involved the divesture of a number of products to Lilly, including vaccines, parasiticides and feed additives, as well as allowing the business to experience significant increases in year-on-year revenues.