Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Continues Aggressive Strategy With $2.6 Billion Medicis Buy

An uncertain sales outlook for acne treatment Solodyn is raising early questions about the $2.6 billion purchase price Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. agreed to pay for Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. MRX 0.00% , the latest and biggest in a string of deals the Canadian company has clinched as part of its unorthodox deals-based growth strategy. Montreal-based Valeant announced the Medicis pact Sept. 3, cementing its leadership position in America's fast-growing dermatology-pharmaceuticals business. Since 2010, Valeant has snapped up more than a dozen drug firms, betting it can grow revenue more quickly through deals than with research and development--long the preferred route to growth among Big Pharma. Excluding Medicis, Valeant ranks as the world's 39th-largest pharmaceutical company by revenue, coming from relative obscurity just a few years ago.

Back to news