J&J to merge Centra arm with Belgian drug venture

Johnson & Johnson is merging two of its UK operations to increase efficiency and cut costs.

Belgium-based Janssen Pharmacy Division, wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson, is to merge with Centra Healthcare.

Centra, a joint venture consumer pharmaceuticals division of J&J and Merck Sharpe & Dohme, markets a product range that includes antacid Pepcid AC, Imodium, Arret, Tyrozets and Pollon-Eze. Janssen’s portfolio includes the market leading fungicide brand Daktarin and number-one sea-sickness pills brand Stugeron.

Centra specialises in marketing prescription-only drugs that then switch to over-the-counter.

The new organisation, to be launched in January, will be headed by Centra managing director Steve Macmillan. David Mitchell, head of marketing and sales at Janssen, will become its commercial director.

“Janssen is the acknowledged leader in taking products from prescription-only medicines to pharmaceuticals – and there are more in the pipeline. With Centra’s record of developing marketing programmes and building successful consumer brands, we will become a major force in pharmacy healthcare,” says Mitchell.