Associated Press

CANONSBURG - Generic and specialty pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. said Monday it has acquired the central eastern European generics businesses of German drug maker Merck KGaA, as part of an agreement signed last year.

Mylan exercised its option to acquire the businesses under its original agreement from October 2007, in which Mylan acquired Merck KGaA's generics business in western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and North America.

Southointe-based Mylan said the latest acquisition does not require any additional consideration to Merck and includes operations in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Mylan Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Robert J. Coury said the acquisition gives the company access to areas with significant growth opportunities for generics. "It reflects our global strategy to leverage existing platforms, rather than create startup organizations," he said in a statement.

Darmstadt-based Merck has been separate from the U.S.-based Merck & Co. since the end of World War I.

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