Galen/Barr: Burying the Hatchet
Executive Summary
After this summer's failed merger talks between the two companies, Galen's three-pronged deal with US-based generics play Barr Laboratories might be the next best thing for Galen investors. At little cost, the deal removes much of the risk associated with the Northern-Irish company's legal battles. And even though agreements between branded players and their generics competitors often raise eyebrows at antitrust authorities, this deal's structure and focus on the heavily genericized oral contraceptives market may get it past the regulators.