Saturday Morning Back-Page Mysteries: European Animal Health Markets Edition

While we wait for signal acquisition, at JPL/NASA, confirming that lil' Juno has survived its 130,000 mph dip, precariously near the polar vortex cloud-tops of Jupiter, I'll post on one "curiosity."

Back in 2010, and earlier, I posted these sorts of items more regularly, when the newly-combined Merck was in full-on trans-national transactional mode. Now that Kenilworth has settled largely into a "steady state" stable of businesses, I look at my automated page analytics/stats from StatCounter (in Europe, at least!) less frequently.

But this one jumped out at me this morning. A series of viewers -- on the Pest side of the river, in what is now called Budapest, Hungary -- have been busily translating my Intervet/Merial posts, images and pages from August of 2009, into Magyar -- the entire month's worth of my analyses of market share in those businesses -- and my advice about, and instructions regarding contacting the EU Competition Commission about them. Fascinating [in part, because the chemists/scientists from way back in my mother's family of origin hail from the Pest side of the river, as well].

It may well just turn out to be academics, doing research on market competition trends in the EU, in veterinary medicine -- for some forthcoming paper. But it may also be someone looking at the animal health markets, with a transaction, or series of transactions, in mind -- given the specific IP addresses involved. And the amount of market share data translated.

As I say -- it is fascinating -- in part because, despite my now distant biological roots, I cannot read Magyar. Smile.

So -- just for grins, I'll re-run the one that's been most heavily and repeatedly translated of late -- in English, right here (in the comments to the original post are the real clues, though -- so do go read them in full, if you are thinking about sleuthing a transaction on this one):

DATELINE August 2009 -- As a public service, I offer the following -- if you need something to write the ECC and ask about, per my post of earlier this morning. . . .

This data is from the European Competition Commission filings made (large 208-page PDF file) when Schering-Plough acquired Organon, and its Intervet Animal Health lines of business (at Pages 88-93), in November of 2007:

. . . .Schering-Plough sells ectoparasiticides for farm animals under the brands Coopers Spot-On, Sputop, Versatrine, Ectoforce, Coopertix, Fly, Zoogama-D and Intervet under the main brand Butox and as well as under the brands Taktic and Topline Suspension. . . .

Based on data provided by the parties, the transaction gives rise to the following affected markets where Schering-Plough and Intervet would have a combined market share of at least 25% in the EEA at the national level (2006 data):

Competitors	Denmark	Greece	Norway	Sweden
Schering-Plough	[5-10]%	[10-20]%	[40-50]%	[60-70]%
Intervet	[20-30]%	[10-20]%	[20-30]%	[20-30]%
Combined	[20-30]%	[20-30]%	[60-70]%	[90-100]%

The merger would therefore lead to very high market shares of the new entity in Sweden ([90-100] %) and Norway ([60-70] %). In Sweden, the parties would face only one competitor -- Bayer with marginal market share ([0-5] %) and in Norway only two competitors Janssen ([5-10] %) and Pfizer ([20-30] %). Given the barriers to entry, the parties will not face strong competitive constraints in these countries postmerger. . . .

With the objective of resolving the serious doubts identified by the Commission in the market for orally administered ectoparasiticides for farm animals in France and in Belgium/Luxembourg and in the market for endoparasiticides/endectocides for farm animals in Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom, Schering-Plough committed to the EEA-wide divesture to a suitable purchaser of endoparasiticides currently marketed under the brand Systamex and the ectoparasiticides for farm animals currently marketed under the brands Coopers Spot On, Versatrine, Sputop and Coopertix. . . .

[Editor's Note: Does anyone know who bought these lines? Were any of them sold to Merial? That would be a very important development -- given that "New Merck" proposes to transfer all of Intervet to the Merial/Sanofi entity, and still own half of it -- if and when Sanofi-Aventis exercises its call option, should all of these transactions close.]

. . . .Following the market test, Schering-Plough added to the products to be transferred EEA-wide the Autoworm, which is the brand under which Organon BS product is registered and marketed in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Schering-Plough also committed to fully transfer to the purchaser the brand Coopertix. The remedy also includes the grant of a licence for the use of the Coopers trademark for the sale of Coopers Spot On in the EEA by way of a royalty-free exclusive and irrevocable licence. . . .

I'll be back soon, with more examples. [END, ORIGINAL 2009 MATERIAL.]

UPDATED: Signal acquired. Smile. Now you know -- rainy but sweetly warm here -- still awaiting signal acquisition from Jupiter, and that lil' "shepherd moon-let" I've grown so fond of. Smile.

नमस्ते