Alvogen, a privately held pharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and distributing generic, over-the-counter (OTC) brands and biosimilar products, has acquired Dream Pharma, a Seoul, South Korea-based pharmaceutical company offering prescription and OTC products, for $187 million in cash. Dream will be acquired through Alvogen's Asian subsidiaries. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.   

Alvogen, based in Pine Brook, New Jersey, has commercial operations in more than 30 countries with 1,800 employees. The company has manufacturing and R&D in the US, Romania, and South Korea.The acquisition of Dream will strengthen Alvogen's existing business in South Korea, adding a complementary portfolio of more than 100 products, which includes a position in the market for anti-obesity products, where Dream hold a 35% share in Korea, according to company information. Alvogen's acquisition of Dream is its third significant acquisition in Asia Pacific since 2012. Earlier this year, it acquired a 67% stake in the Taiwanese pharmaceutical company Lotus Pharmaceutical, and in 2012, it acquired the South Korean pharmaceutical company Kunwha Pharmaceuticals.

Earlier this year, Alvogen, with its partner Hospira, launched a biosimilar of infliximab, the active ingredient in Remicade, under the trade name of Inflectra in Central and Eastern Europe. Inflectra was Europe’s first biosimilar monoclonal antibody therapy and is approved for treating inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis.  Alvogen and Hospira formed a strategic partnership in 2011 to provide biosimilars in Central and Eastern Europe. Alvogen's sister company, Alvotech, announced in November 2013 that it would invest $250 million in biopharmaceuticals.This investment includes the building of a development and manufacturing center in Reykjavik, Iceland and a pipeline, including six monoclonal antibodies.

Source: Alvogen