Hoechst Buying Drug Maker Roussel Uclaf

German chemical producer Hoechst is consolidating its international drug business by buying the rest of France’s Roussel Uclaf, the developer of the abortion pill RU-486. Hoechst, which owns more than 56% of Roussel, said it will buy out the remaining stake for $3.62 billion. Hoechst has been reorganizing its drug division, Hoechst Marion Roussel, since acquiring U.S. drug maker Marion Merrell Dow Inc. last year. Hoechst said the Roussel buyout was necessary before it could decide whether to offer shares in the drug business to U.S. investors. Roussel Uclaf developed RU-486 in the early 1980s and transferred U.S. patent rights to the Population Council, a nonprofit organization. Hoechst Marion’s U.S. products include the Nicoderm patch for smokers, the Cardizem blood pressure drug and the allergy drug Seldane.