Area drug company sells unit to Bayer

Bayer AG, Germany's biggest drugmaker, agreed to buy the over-the-counter medicines unit from Libertyville-based Sagmel Inc. to expand in eastern Europe.

Financial details of the transaction, which is expected to close later this year, will remain confidential, Leverkusen-based Bayer said in a statement Tuesday.

Sagmel employs 1,000 people. Its products include Theraflex, a painkiller used to treat osteoarthritis; Nazol, a decongestant; the hemorrhoid treatment Relief; and nutritional brands Calcemin, Theravit and Jungle.

Bayer's consumer-health unit sells brands including Aspirin, which it invented, Alka-Seltzer and Rennie.

"Our consumer-health business is a key component of Bayer HealthCare, and we will continue to invest in this area in order to ensure further growth," Arthur Higgins, chief executive officer of Bayer's health-care unit, said in the statement.

Sagmel had sales of $119.9 million from the unit in the 12 months starting October 2006.

The purchase will give Bayer access to Sagmel's over-the-counter business in Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and lift Bayer's own presence in that market.

"The combined portfolio of Sagmel Inc. and Bayer Consumer Care offers a very strong and attractive platform to further strengthen our business in one of the world's fastest growing regions," said Gary Balkema, president of Bayer HealthCare's consumer care division.