The products, which have a combined sales value of $15 million, would boost Ranbaxy's presence in the US branded medicine segment, Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and MD, Ranbaxy, said.
According to Singh, the market size of the 13 brands would amount to approximately $4.5 billion.
"The products used to enjoy sales worth $50 to 60 million 2 years ago. The sales volume came down after BMS lost interest in promoting these brands. Now that we have acquired them, we will push these products through our existing distribution channels to ensure better growth," he added.
These high-margin products have been present in the market for over 10 years and were utilised in the treatment of acne, dermatitis, psoriasis, fungal infections and scabies. The US dermatology market value is estimated at $10 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent.
Ranbaxy already has a branded dermatology product called Sotret in the US. The 'Sotret' isotretinoin capsules, used for the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodular acne, is the largest selling isotretinoin brand, with a market share exceeding 36 per cent.
Ranbaxy earned $114 million from its US operations in 2006. It launched 10 new products during the year. The company said that the revenues from the sale of the newly acquired brands would be reflected from the next quarter.
With the brand acquisition, Ranbaxy has become the second company after Dr Reddys to have a strong dermatology portfolio in the US. Dr Reddys had acquired Trigenesis Therapeutics, a US-based privately owned dermatology company in May 2004 for $11 million.
The acquisition provided Dr. Reddy's with access to products and proprietary drug delivery technology platforms for developing a pipeline of differentiated drugs in the dermatology segment.
