Sun Pharma Buys Novartis Drugs
Indian generic drug maker Sun Pharma has agreed to buy a portfolio of brands from Novartis for $293 million.
The Mumbai-based multi-national is acquiring 14 established prescription brands with combined annualized revenues of around $160 million that address medical conditions across several therapeutic areas.
Under terms of the deal, Novartis will continue to distribute the brands for a certain period, pending transfer of all marketing authorizations to a subsidiary of Sun Pharma which will then hand over marketing and distribution to a “reliable and established” local partner.
Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma’s managing director, said Japan was a market of strategic interest. “This acquisition marks Sun Pharma’s foray into the Japanese prescription market and provides us an opportunity to build a larger product portfolio in the future,” he commented.
According to December 2015 data from information services provider IMS Health, Japan’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to be worth $73 billion, accounting for more than 7% of the $1 trillion global market.
In separate news, Sun Pharma is partnering with AstraZeneca Pharma India to distribute Type 2 diabetes treatment dapagliflozin in India. AstraZeneca markets the drug as Forxiga, but Sun Pharma will promote and distribute it under the name Oxra.
Under the terms of the deal, both companies will promote, market and distribute dapagliflozin in the country under different brand names.
AstraZeneca will retain intellectual property rights to the therapy. Sun Pharma will also gain rights to promote and distribute the combination of dapagliflozin with metformin under the name Oxramet, following regulatory approval which AstraZeneca India is currently seeking.
Sun Pharma’s CEO, India business, said the agreement further strengthened its partnership with AstraZeneca India and bolstered its diabetes portfolio.
