BAUSCH & LOMB's $97 MIL. CASH PURCHASE OF DR. MANN PHARMA

BAUSCH & LOMB's $97 MIL. CASH PURCHASE OF DR. MANN PHARMA, a West German ophthalmic drug company, will introduce the U.S. eyecare company to the European ophthalmic drug market. "The acquisition is the most significant development thus far in Bausch & Lomb's program for establishing a major presence in the worldwide ophthalmic pharmaceutical business," the company said in a July 7 press release. Approximately half of Dr. Mann's $26 mil. annual volume is made up of Rx ophthalmics with the other half coming from OTC personal health care products, Bausch & Lomb said. Roughly 90% of Dr. Mann's business is conducted in West Germany and the remainder in other European countries. According to Bausch & Lomb, Dr. Mann's chief Rx product is the beta blocker BetaMann (metipranolol), which is used in the treatment of glaucoma. The German firm has a U.S. licensing agreement with CooperVision, which has the drug in clinical trials. Dr. Mann Pharma will operate as a separate subsidiary of Bausch & Lomb with present management remaining in place. The company is headed by Erika Schwalbe-Riel. Bausch & Lomb took its initial plunge into the U.S. drug business last March when it purchased 10 Rx and OTC ophthalmic products from Muro Pharmaceutical. The company also has an anti-allergy drug in its research pipeline, human IgE pentapeptide, which is licensed from Immunetech for ophthalmic indications. The drug is currently in Phase II trials.