Japan's Taisho buys select Asian assets from Bristol-Myers

Japan's Taisho Pharmaceutical will buy six Asia-Pacific brands and the Indonesian subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb for $310 million, according to an announcement yesterday. It is paying $160 million for the brands and $150 million for the Indonesian company.

Taisho is acquiring the trademarks, product registrations and websites for Tempra, a fever-reducing medicine, Counterpain, an anti-inflammatory analgesic for application, and four other brands. Tempra is well-established in Indonesia and the Philippines, while Counterpain has a large share of the market in Indonesia and Thailand.

In addition to Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, the six brands also sell in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and 13 other countries in Asia-Pacific. China is excluded from...