Baxter will acquire Degussa's Asta Medica oncology subsidiary for $470 million. Degussa is selling the unit to focus on specialty chemicals. The business makes chemotherapeutic agents and has annual sales of about $130 million. It will complement Baxter's existing oncology business, which provides chemotherapy, pain management, and drug delivery products. Baxter expects its oncology sales to reach $400 million in 2002.

"There is tremendous unmet need, and the market for oncology therapeutics and related products is growing at 15% annually," says Harry M. J. Kraemer Jr., Baxter's chairman and CEO.

Also a major provider of blood-plasma-derived therapeutics, Baxter is expanding its biotech production of proteins and vaccines, committing $290 million since March. Its sales of bioscience products, about 36% of its total, grew 18% in the first half of this year.

To expand its expertise in genetic diseases and enzyme replacement therapies, Genzyme will purchase Novazyme Pharmaceuticals for $137.5 million in stock. Additional stock payments, worth up to $87.5 million, depend on U.S. marketing approval for Novazyme's first two products.

Genzyme believes that Novazyme's protein engineering technologies, which enhance the targeting and uptake of enzymes, will help it create improved versions of its existing products. Its sales of Cerezyme--for treating Gaucher disease, the most common, but still rare, genetic lysosomal storage disorder--are expected to reach $570 million this year.

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