Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Zepharma was successfully folded into a scaled OTC franchise, but two decades later Daiichi Sankyo decided consumer health wasn't its future and sold the whole thing to Suntory.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Astellas sold profitable but sub-scale OTC unit Zepharma to Daiichi Sankyo for ~JPY 23.5B; expected ~JPY 20B extraordinary profit and a refocusing on…
Daiichi Sankyo acquired Zepharma for 23.5 billion yen on April 13, 2006; integration with Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare in April 2007 created Japan's third-largest…
Deal valued at ~$200M; Daiichi Sankyo gains scale in Japanese OTC consumer healthcare, narrowing the gap with Taisho and Takeda category leaders.
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 5 sources with sentiment breakdown →
OTC unit divested by Astellas; JPY 23.5B
Zepharma was successfully folded into a scaled OTC franchise, but two decades later Daiichi Sankyo decided consumer health wasn't its future and sold the whole thing to Suntory.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited / Zepharma Inc. (this deal) | 2006 | $200M | 57 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited / Ambit Biosciences | 2006 | $410M | 62 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited / Plexxikon Inc. | 2011 | $935M | 51 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited / Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited | 2008 | $4.6B | 14 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited / Nosis Biosciences, Inc. | 2025 | — | — |
| Eli Lilly and Company / ICOS Corporation | 2006 | $2.3B | 87 |
| Crucell N.V. / Berna Biotech AG | 2006 | $450M | 85 |