Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchases Johnson & Johnson dermatology subsidiary

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Valeant Pharmaceuticals has purchased a dermatology subsidiary from Johnson & Johnson, the Canadian drug maker said Friday.

The $345 million acquisition of the Ortho Dermatologics division of J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals follows Valeant’s $425 million purchase of Dermik, the skin care business of French drug maker Sanofi. Ortho Dermatologics’ portfolio includes the drugs Retin-A Micro, Ertaczo and Renova, which collectively had sales of about $150 million in 2010.

“With the combination of this transaction and other recently announced transactions, Valeant is well on its way to being one of the leading companies in dermatology,” Valeant chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson said in a statement. “We believe that dermatology remains an attractive therapeutic area for Valeant, and we are pleased to be able to add another strong franchise to our growing operations.”