There are only three manufacturing sites in the world approved by the FDA to make nicotine gum and Teva has sold one, along with its U.S. portfolio of OTC products, to a company that is all about store brands.
Westbury, New York-based PL Developments says the nicotine gum operations it bought from Teva will compliment the nicotine lozenges business it already has. The deal also comes with 40 approved and pending generic products and over-the-counter products. Terms of acquisition to the private, family-owned company were not disclosed.
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“Adding Teva’s nicotine chewing gum ANDAs to our recently approved nicotine lozenge ANDA, gives PLD one of the most comprehensive portfolios in the high-value NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) space,” the company said in its announcement. “The acquisition significantly reinforces PLD’s position as the second largest packager and distributor of U.S. store-brand drugs.”
In addition to several copies of Nicorette products, the sale includes knockoffs of Rogaine products, Claritin D and others.
PLD President Evan Singer told Newsday that the deal includes a 93,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Copiague, New York with about 80 employees. He said it is one of three the FDA has approved globally to make nicotine gum.
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The company, which sells to chains like Walmart and Costco, has moved into other product areas through M&A in the past. In 2013, it expanded beyond its base in solid dose products with the acquisition of Aaron Industries, a liquid dose maker in Clinton, South Carolina.
In 2016, PLD invested about $45 million to build another manufacturing and distribution site in South Carolina. The one in Piedmont, South Carolina, was its sixth site.
Teva, on the other hand, has been aggressively shedding manufacturing facilities for several years. It targeted about 40 facilities and 14,000 jobs as part of a $3 billion cost-cutting endeavor after misguided acquisitions and a softening U.S. generics market left it struggling financially.