As aging populations and health-conscious consumers drive demand for self-medication, the fragmented consumer health sector has proved a fertile ground for deal-making in recent years. Pfizer’s consumer healthcare business, whose brands include painkiller Advil and lip balm Chapstick, had revenue of about $3.4 billion in 2016. Bayer and Sanofi may be less likely to bid, despite their consumer health presence, given they are busy absorbing Monsanto and Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer business respectively. The Pfizer business includes two of the 10 top-selling consumer healthcare brands globally in Advil and the multivitamin line Centrum. Pfizer has hired Centerview Partners, Guggenheim Securities and Morgan Stanley as financial advisers for the review,Germany’s Merck KGaA had hired JP Morgan to sell its consumer health business.

Source: bd News24 October 10, 2017 14:26 UTC