Now, Iceland’s Actavis Group is considering a bid for Merck KGaA’s generic business.

Already, two other big generic players have been eyeing the German unit - India’s Ranbaxy Labs and Israel’s Teva Pharmaceuticals. A few private equity firms have also expressed interest.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. For more than a year, the generics world has been consolidating. Novartis, for instance, climbed to the No. 2 spot with a pair of acquistions.

Of course, the Swiss drugmaker isn’t the only brand-name company with a copycat business. But given the pipeline problems ailing so many of its rivals, one has to wonder whether another big pharma won’t join the fray and diversify, especially as biotech companies and their products become more expensive.

[tags]Generics, Merck KGaA, Novartis, Ranbaxy, Teva[/tags]