Swiss pharmaceuticals firm Novartis is to strengthen its over-the-counter business by acquiring the rights to produce and market a North American product range.

The deal with New York-based firm Bristol-Myers Squibb is worth 660 million US dollars, Novartis said Friday, adding that the transaction still needs the approval of regulatory authorities.

The Basel-based firm said it was buying the non-prescription drug range to give it greater "critical mass" in the US market. The brands it is acquiring had combined 2004 sales of 258 million dollars.

The drugs portfolio includes the widely used painkiller, Excedrin, which had US sales last year of 160 million dollars. This provides Novartis with its first painkiller tablet for adults in the United States.

Other brands included in the acquisition are Comtrex cold and flu products and No-Doz anti-drowsiness tablets.

Novartis is one of the leading manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs,second in Europe, in the world.

On Thursday, Novartis announced that its net profit rose by record 12 percent for the first six months of this year, adding that it expected the good results to continue for the rest of the year.

Source: Xinhua