Joanna Cosgrove09.01.07
Citracal Sold to Bayer
Venerable calcium brand will benefit from Bayer’s considerable market muscle.
By
Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor
Bayer has been the undisputed market leader in the aspirin category for more than 100 years, backing up its brand with clinical research that’s improved the lives of countless consumers. Beyond the realm of aspirin, Bayer HealthCare’s Consumer Care Division (headquartered in Morristown, NJ), a subsidiary of Germany-based Bayer AG, also has reputable real estate in the nutritional supplement market; most notably with its One-A-Day brand daily multivitamin. The company’s supplement share recently diversified with the acquisition of Mission Pharmacal’s Citracal brand calcium citrate supplement line, which spans five varieties of tablets and capsules, as well as three flavors of Creamy Bites.
On the market since 1984, Citracal continues to be one of the most researched over the counter (OTC) calcium supplements on the market. Citracal is primarily sold in North America and accrued $47 million in net sales for 2007 fiscal year. Both companies agreed not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, but is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2007.
The acquisition embodied a clear cut opportunity to boost Bayer’s profile in the nutritional supplement category. “The Citracal brand offers very attractive growth potential both in the critically important U.S. market and for our nutritionals portfolio, which is a key growth driver for us now and in the future,” said Gary Balkema, president of Bayer HealthCare's Consumer Care Division.
Tricia McKernan, head of global communications for Bayer HealthCare’s Consumer Care Division, echoed Mr. Balkema’s comments: “This acquisition fits quite nicely within our global growth strategy as our nutritionals business is a key focus area on a global basis. Further, on a regional basis we are very interested in growing our business in the United States, the world’s largest OTC market.”
She also said the Citracal brand offered another level of credibility to Bayer’s existing US nutritionals portfolio, which include One-A-Day, Supradyn, Berocca and Redoxon brands, and gives the company a prime route into the calcium segment. “The calcium market in the United States makes up a substantial portion of the total Vitamins Minerals and Supplements (VMS) market and we believe that there is significant room to grow this segment in the future,” she said. “Bayer is a leader in the VMS category with proven marketing and sales expertise that has placed our existing key brands within the top positions in the markets in which they compete. We also have unique insights into our consumer segment and plan to use our expertise and insight to grow the brand.”
Further opportunity, said Bayer, may also come by extending the Citracal product presence into other parts of the world, including key growth markets such as Asia Pacific.
“Bayer HealthCare is prepared to take Citracal to a worldwide market,” commented Bob Ganguzza, vice president of marketing, Mission Pharmacal, San Antonio, TX. “Bayer HealthCare is an ideal company to take Citracal to the next level on the world stage with its deep sales organization around the globe. Bayer has the ability to extend Citracal’s brand presence into other parts of the world utilizing its considerable global marketing, sales and distribution expertise.”
Mr. Ganguzza said it was “the right time and the right opportunity” for Mission to pull the trigger on this transaction. Mission Pharmacal will continue to manufacture Citracal for Bayer, but strategically speaking, the deal allows the company to grow on the specialty Rx and OTC pharmaceutical fronts. “Specifically, on the Rx side, we have some exciting products like Tindamax which continues to make us an important player in the world of women’s health. Tindamax was given approval for a new indication by the FDA this past May as the first new oral treatment for bacterial vaginosis in a decade,” he said. “Also, Urocit-K (Potassium Citrate) has been the Rx gold standard of treatment for kidney stone disease for many years. Our family of Rx prenatal vitamins round out the prescription products we are concentrating on at this time.
“On the OTC side, we have products such as Calcet triple calcium and Thera-Gesic, an analgesic cream for minor arthritis pain, back pain and muscle pain that already enjoy good distribution,” he added.