AmerisourceBergen pays $815m for H.D. Smith

By Flora Southey

- Last updated on GMT

GettyImages/utah778
GettyImages/utah778

Related tags Medicine

AmerisourceBergen Corporation will buy US wholesaler H.D. Smith, which it says will boost capabilities and help secure the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The finished product distributor said it would pay $815m (€688m) in cash for H.D. Smith, to be funded through the issuance of new long-term debt.

“With H.D. Smith, we plan to meaningfully expand and enhance our scale in pharmaceutical distribution which will allow us to improve patient access, increase supply chain efficiency and enhance patient care nationwide,” ​spokesperson Francesca Gunning told us.

“We will have stronger resources to enable community pharmacists to drive tremendous health benefits within the patients and communities they serve,” ​she added.

Gunning told us the acquisition will benefit both firms’ client bases.

“Customers will see the same set of values, with the resources, scale and service that AmerisourceBergen and H.D. Smith have always provided,” ​she said.

“Our focus right now is to ensure that customers have a simple and positive experience.”

The acquisition is subject to regulatory review and expected to be finalised early 2018.

Manufacturing violations

Earlier this week, AmerisourceBergen said​ it had increased its reserve to $625m for an agreement with the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York, following claims its pre-filled syringe business for cancer treatments was not authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The agreement is subject to negotiation and approval.

Just two months ago​, the firm paid $260m at the federal level for failing to register the oncology programmes with the FDA, which violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

The claim relates to Medicinal Initiatives – a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group – which voluntarily ceased operations in 2014.

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