Zeneca and Astra Near Deal to Merge

NEW YORK —  Britain’s Zeneca Group and Sweden’s Astra disclosed Tuesday that they are close to a deal that would create one of the world’s biggest drug makers.

Zeneca and Astra have a combined stock value of $63 billion. If merged, they would have combined annual sales exceeding $15 billion.

Company executives are in “advanced discussions,” a Zeneca spokesman said. An Astra spokesman also confirmed the talks.

Astra is best known as the maker of Prilosec, an ulcer and heartburn medication that’s the world’s best-selling prescription drug. But the drug is scheduled to lose its patent protection in 2001. That would open the door for generic firms to make a less expensive copy. Analysts speculated that is a leading factor influencing the merger plan.

Zeneca is the second-leading maker of cancer drugs behind New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb. It also owns Salick Health Care, a U.S. operator of cancer treatment and dialysis centers.

On the New York Stock Exchange, trading in Zeneca’s American depositary receipts was halted pending news after they rose $4.25 to $45. Astra ADRs were suspended at $21.88 after rising $3.63. Zeneca had $8.57 billion in sales in 1997 and has a market value of $38.62 billion. Astra’s sales were $5.68 billion; its market value is $24.48 billion.