Teva completes acquisition of Barr

JERUSALEM Teva has completed its acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals, the Israeli generic drug maker announced Tuesday.

Teva, already the world’s largest maker of generic drugs, said the combined company will have a presence in more than 60 countries and generate revenues of approximately $13.6 billion on a pro-forma basis for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2009.

“This is truly an exciting day for us,” Teva president and CEO Shlomo Yanai said in a statement. “By combining two industry-leading companies, we have established a stronger, more competitive company with increased scale and an expanded geographic footprint with significant potential for growth.”

Earlier this month, Barr announced that the Food and Drug Administration had accepted its biologics approval application for two vaccines for adenovirus, marking its first foray into biologics.