Watson gets OK to buy drug maker

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. won U.S. antitrust clearance to buy Andrx Corp. for $1.9 billion, an acquisition that will create the nation’s largest maker of generic drugs.

The Federal Trade Commission approved the purchase on condition that Corona-based Watson and Andrx of Davie, Fla., divest overlapping products. The companies had a combined $2.69 billion in revenue last year.

Watson agreed in March to pay $25 for each share of Andrx, or 16% more than the stock’s price at that time. Andrx specializes in copies of controlled-release drugs, such as GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil antidepressant and Schering-Plough Corp.’s Claritin allergy medication.

“Andrx will help Watson in a number of ways,” said Timothy Chiang, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities Corp. in New York. “There are some nice-sized opportunities that Watson could potentially have in 2007.”

Watson and Andrx twice extended the deadline for completing their merger to address antitrust issues. With the necessary approval obtained, Watson and Andrx said that they expected the deal to close Friday.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of Petah Tikva, Israel, would get Andrx’s birth-control pill business under the agreement. Watson also would stop distributing oxycodone with ibuprofen for Interpharm Holdings Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y.

Shares of Watson rose 36 cents Tuesday to $26.91. Andrx gained a penny to $24.59.

Watson and Andrx together would surpass Barr Pharmaceuticals of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., as the largest U.S. generic-drug maker.