Sciele Pharma terminates agreement to acquire Victory Pharma

ATLANTA Sciele Pharma, a U.S.-based group company of Shionogi & Co., has mutually agreed to terminate its acquisition of a specialty pharmaceutical company Victory Pharma.

Sciele Pharma and Victory Pharma have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced merger agreement due to the occurrence of an unforeseen development that occurred after the agreement was signed.

The termination of this merger agreement between Sciele and Victory will have a minimal impact on Shionogi, and it is expected to have a small impact on Sciele’s 2009 revenue and earnings guidance. Sciele will continue to focus on its growth and diversification strategy, which the company initiated three years ago. Sciele has completed 10 transactions since 2007. An important part of Sciele’s growth strategy is to license and acquire products in addition to launching new products from its development pipeline.

Sciele, which specializes in the development of treatments for diabetes, women's health issues and pediatrics. Victory Pharma is focused on acquiring, developing and marketing products to treat pain and related conditions.