Pfizer to Acquire Maker of Plax

Pfizer Inc. said Monday that it will acquire the 80% of Oral Research Laboratories Inc. that it does not already own but does not expect the $200-million purchase to affect its 1988 earnings.

Privately held Oral Research makes Plax--a pre-brushing hygiene rinse to remove dental plaque.

Pfizer has been distributing Plax in the United States since the beginning of 1988. The product currently amasses $100 million annually in U.S. sales, the company said.

Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Edmund Platt said in a statement that Plax “will become our largest consumer product and fits well with our strategy to expand our consumer health-care business.”

Pfizer bought a 20% interest in New York-based Oral Research in May, 1987, for an undisclosed amount. The total acquisition should be completed in mid-September, subject to approval by Oral Research shareholders, Pfizer said.

Pfizer is the nation’s sixth-largest pharmaceutical company, with 1987 profits of $690 million on sales of $4.92 billion. Its shares slid 87.50 cents Monday, ending at $51.