Valeant Pharmaceuticals expands in dermatology sector
Valeant Canada has signed an agreement to pay approximately C$10.5m for the Toronto-based company which had annual sales last year of approximately C$11m.
Although the transaction is expected to close before the end of the second quarter, it is subject to a number of closing conditions.
Expansion in cosmeceuticals
According to Valeant Canada, the acquisition of Vital Science’s skin care brands, which include anti-aging ranges dermaglow and Heiko, will help the company drive its expansion strategy into the dermatology and cosmeceutical market in the region.
In addition, the company hopes that the acquisition will help it to gain ground in the Canadian retail channel.
“Vital Science’s established brands such as dermaglow and Heiko, along with its strong distribution network in the Canadian retail channel, will enhance our current portfolio of products while providing us with the ability to more broadly promote our US consumer brands such as CeraVe and Kinerase in the Canadian marketplace,” said CEO J. Michael Pearson.
CeraVe and Kinerase are the company’s own consumer brands that tackle skin moisturisation and anti-aging respectively.
In addition, Valeant also has brands from the Laboratoire Dr. Renaud company which it acquired late last year.
The company paid C$23m for the cosmeceutical company last December with the hope of gaining a foothold into the esthetic clinics and spa channel in which Laboratoire Dr Renaud is very strong.
In addition, as part of the transaction Valeant also entered into a lease for a 45,000 square foot facility, including a manufacturing plant specialising in topical formulations.
“With exclusive access to a world class topical manufacturing plant and a successful sales and marketing infrastructure, we also have the ability to launch select U.S. dermatology products into Canada and further expand our reach in dermatology,” said Pearson at the time of the transaction.
