UPDATE 2-Takeda, Abbott say to equally split joint venture

(Adds details on logic of deal, background, byline)

By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) said on Wednesday they would split their long-standing joint venture equally, with Takeda receiving rights to blockbuster ulcer drug Prevacid and Abbott getting rights to prostate cancer drug Lupron.

Analysts, responding to earlier rumors that the joint venture, TAP Pharmaceuticals Products, was being dissolved, said a split would strengthen Takeda's U.S. sales operations while allowing Abbott to exit a business that has become steadily less important to its earnings.

Japan's Takeda said it planned to integrate surviving remnants of the 31-year-old joint venture, including a new ulcer drug and a treatment for gout both awaiting U.S. approval, into its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiaries.

In addition to full ownership of Lupron, Abbott would be entitled to future payments, based on the venture's other current and certain future products, the companies said.

Takeda and Abbott said the deal, slated to close within 30-to-60 days, would have no impact on their financial results this year.

TAP, which operates in the United States, had sales last year of about $3 billion from Prevacid and Lupron.

Morgan Stanley analyst Glenn Reicin welcomed reports that Abbott and Takeda might soon be parting ways.

"TAP is a distraction to Abbott, in our view, given the declining contribution to (Abbott's) earnings and a modest pipeline" of experimental drugs, Reicin said in a research note.

Prevacid, with annual revenue of about $2.3 billion, is expected to face generic competition by late 2009. But the joint venture's newer ulcer and heartburn medicine, if approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, would enjoy patent protection for years to come.

Lupron, with annual sales of approximately $600 million, is not expected to face generic competition until 2015, Abbott said.

Abbott said Lupron would give it a marketed cancer drug as the Chicago drugmaker continues development of experimental treatments for cancers of the lung, kidney, liver and brain.

Takeda, which earmarked $10 billion for major investments including acquisitions, has been trying to gain control of TAP for a decade, but has been at odds with Abbott over the price.

With Japan's drug market showing little growth, the nation's largest pharmaceutical firms are looking to boost their presence in the United States -- the world's biggest drug market -- as well as replenish their pipelines.

Astellas Pharma Inc (4503.T) recently bought U.S. biotech firm Agensys Inc, while Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd (4568.T) has embarked on a major U.S. expansion. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson, Editing by Toni Reinhold, Leslie Gevirtz)