Mylan boosts Euro portfolio with $756M rights deal for Aspen's injectable thrombosis meds

Mylan's planned megamerger with Pfizer's Upjohn generics unit has had a rocky road to approval, with the novel coronavirus pandemic snagging regulatory review. Despite the delay, Mylan isn't twiddling its thumbs: The generics giant is now bolting on a major addition to its EU portfolio as it awaits its merger deadline.

Mylan will shell out $756 million for European rights to a suite of Aspen Pharmacare's sterile injectable anticoagulants that raked in nearly a quarter-billion dollars in the year ending June 30, the generics giant said Tuesday.

Mylan will pay Aspen $310 million in cash upfront with an additional cash payment of $446 million due by June 25, 2021. The deal is expected to close by Dec. 31, roughly in line with the closing date for Mylan's planned merger with Pfizer's Upjohn generics unit.

Aspen will continue to manufacture the anticoagulants included in the deal—sold under the brand names Arixtra, Fraxiparine, Mono-Embolex and Orgaran—given its "fully vertically integrated supply chain" in Europe, Mylan said in a release.

The Aspen acquisition will position Mylan as the second-largest producer of thrombosis products in Europe, Mylan said, and expand its reach in hospitals. Mylan said it would widen its marketing team to accommodate its growing portfolio but didn't specify how many positions it would add.

A Mylan spokeswoman could not be reached for comment by press time.

RELATED: Merger of Mylan and Pfizer's Upjohn wins EU nod with product sell-off agreement

Mylan's Aspen pickup comes as the drugmaker works to close its delayed merger with Upjohn and also pay off $1 billion in debt. The purchase won't impact that debt payoff plan, Mylan said, and the drugmaker hopes its newest products will have a positive impact on margins once the merged company, dubbed Viatris, goes online next year. In a note to clients Tuesday, SVB Leerink analysts said the Aspen deal could be an indicator of the merged company's corporate strategy after closing. "We expect more bolt-on deals like this from the new company post close with focus on possibly consolidating some additional therapeutics areas," the analysts wrote. RELATED: Pfizer, Mylan say COVID-19 delays will postpone their Viatris merger In April, EU regulators gave their go-ahead to the merger after Mylan and Pfizer agreed to sell some Mylan generic drugs across 20 countries in the European Economic Area and the U.K. Mylan said at the time that the required divestitures were “substantially in line with” the company’s previously stated expectations. The merger was originally set to close in the second quarter, but the would-be partners said regulatory complications thanks to COVID-19 would hold it up. Now, they're aiming for a fourth-quarter close and a fresh start for Viatris, which is expected to become the largest generics player in the world with a board stocked with Pfizer and Mylan veterans.