Forest Laboratories, Inc. Seen Needing M&A Deals Amid Patent Losses

Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) needs acquisitions to counter a projected 80 percent drop in profit this year as patents on its top-selling drugs start to expire. About three-quarters of the company’s more than $4.5 billion of sales last year were generated by the antidepressant Lexapro, which lost exclusivity in March, and Namenda, an Alzheimer’s treatment facing the end of its patent protection in 2015. Net income at New York-based Forest, where costs have risen faster than sales over the last five years, is projected to tumble the most in at least 16 years, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

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