King must sell Kadian assets to buy Alpharma

King Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday it will be allowed to buy Alpharma Inc. provided it sells some assets related to Alpharma's painkiller Kadian. King said the Federal Trade Commission has ended a required waiting period for King's buyout of Alpharma, and is provisionally accepting a consent order for public comment. After three months of public wrangling, Alpharma accepted a buyout offer worth $1.6 billion, or $37 per share, from King in November. King's tender offer for Bridgewater, N.J.-based Alpharma is expected to end at 10 a.m. Monday, and more than 92 percent of Alpharma shares have been tendered in favor of the deal.

[Bill Petrovas]

Patients may experience greater break through pain on Kadian since not truely a once a day. Sales in Canada are approx. 1.3 million. M-Eslon is a twice per day equivalent which has been highly successful in British Columbia. Lowest cost alternative policies will allow these products to remain on the market. The patch has failed; therefore, another reason to switch to long acting morphines.....they have stood the test of time, cheap and reliable....its the devil we know.