J&J to buy Actelion for US$30b and spin off Swiss drugmaker's R&D unit

New York

JOHNSON & JOHNSON agreed to buy Actelion Ltd for US$30 billion and spin off the Swiss drugmaker's research and development operations, clinching its largest deal ever to become a leader in medicines treating a rare type of high blood pressure.

With the purchase, J&J, already the world's biggest maker of healthcare products, is fulfilling its goal of adding a new drug category and dealing a blow to France's Sanofi, which had also sought to acquire Actelion.