October 7, 2008

Monsanto obtains US$300 million from sale of cow hormone brand 

Monsanto Company announced that it has completed the sale of its Posilac bovine somatotropin brand and related business to Eli Lilly and Company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly purchased assets and liabilities of Monsanto associated with the Posilac brand and related business for an upfront payment of US$300 million, plus additional contingent consideration.

Posilac bovine somatotropin is an FDA-approved animal pharmaceutical used by US dairy farmers to increase productivity.

Lilly's animal health division, Elanco, headquartered in Greenfield, Indiana, has been marketing recombinant bovine somatotropin for Monsanto over the last decade outside the US under a licensing agreement.

Since it was first sold in the US in 1994, Posilac has become the country's leading dairy animal supplement.