Biopharmaceutical firm Cephalon today agreed to acquire Swiss-based generic drug maker Mepha AG and its subsidiaries for $590 million to expand in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

A Fortune 1000 company with 2008 sales of $2 billion, Cephalon is acquiring Mepha from the Merckle family-owned Mepha Holding AG through an auction.

It was reported in November that about six large pharmaceutical companies and specialist generic-drug manufacturers were eyeing Mepha and the Merckle family expected to raise more than $689 million from sale.

Founded in 1949 and based in Aesch, Switzerland, Mepha AG is a privately-held firm that manufactures and markets more than 120 generic and branded generic drugs in 50 countries. In 2009 it had sales of around $377 million.

It portfolio of drugs is used to treat anti-infective, anti-malarial, cardiovascular-endocrinological, central nervous system, gastrointestinal-urogenital, musco sceletal-pain, respiratory-ENT related problems.

Pennsylvania-based Cephalon, co-founded in 1987 by Dr. Frank Baldino, Jr, a pharmacologist and former scientist with the DuPont was named one of the 10 most respected biotechnology firms in the world by industry publication MedAd News in 2006.

The acquisition would diversify Cephalon's business mix, double the size of its international business, and provide an attractive platform to launch products in new, developed and emerging markets.

Cephalon will use Mepha's drugs for the treatment of hypertension and malaria as well as a filgrastim, which helps the immune system to recover from the depletion of white blood cells after chemotherapy.

''The addition of Mepha will transform our international business overnight, expanding our ability to serve global markets and reach patients in new territories for the first time," said Frank Baldino, Jr., Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Cephalon.

"With this deal, we now serve all three types of pharmaceutical markets, proprietary branded, generic and branded generic. We believe this balance will increase the growth and stability of our business," added Baldino.

The Merckle family has also put its Ratiopharm GmbH, a German generic-drug maker for sale, to for which Pfizer, Israeli generic drug maker Teva and EQT Partners AB of Sweden are reported to be in the fray.