1 February 2010 - US biopharmaceutical company Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH) announced today it has signed an agreement to acquire Swiss generic drug producer Mepha.

The purchase price is CHF622.5m (USD587.6m/EUR422.9m), subject to adjustments upon closing. Mepha is currently in the possession of German entrepreneur family Merckle. If it gets the approval of antitrust authorities and fulfils other closing conditions, the purchase will be finalised in the next 10-12 weeks, Cephalon said.

The takeover will allow Cephalon to enlarge its international market presence, said Frank Baldino, CEO of the American company. Thanks to Mepha, Cephalon will serve all three types of pharmaceutical markets: proprietary branded, generic and branded generic, Baldino added.

For its part, Mepha believes the deal with strengthen its position on the Swiss market with Cephalon's innovative therapies, Mepha CEO Thomas Villiger said.

Cephalon will preserve the Mepha brand and considers investing in the Aesch site in the Swiss canton of Basel-Country.

Mepha produces and markets more than 120 products in 50 countries. It booked sales of about CHF400m in 2009.

Cephalon specialises in discovering, developing and marketing medicines for hard-to-treat and rare diseases. It has around 3,000 employees worldwide.

(CHF1 = USD0.943/EUR0.679)

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