Alpharma strengthens its position in China

The Shenzhou City-based company makes zinc bacitracin, which is the antibiotic that keeps livestock healthy, with annual sales of $5 million, Alpharma said.

The company said it will continue to support Tongde’s customer base and also export the product to other markets. With the acquisition, Alpharma expanded its presence in China. “In 2006, we announced an agreement with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. that will double the capacity of the company’s largest and fastest growing active pharmaceutical ingredient product, vancomycin, subject to the receipt of the required regulatory approvals,” Dean Mitchell, Alpharma’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.