Sun Pharmaceuticals, the speciality drug-maker, on Friday announced its decision to acquire three pharma brands from the San Diego-based Womena First Healthcare for around Rs 24.84 crore ($5.4 million). This marks the company's foray into the branded drugs market in North America.
These brands, having a combined turnover of $7.6 million in the US, are synthetic antibacterial drug Bactrima (sulfamethoxazole with trimethoprim), gynecological drug Ortho-EstA (estropipate) and antimigraine preparation MidrinA (isometheptene, acetaminophen, dichloralphenazone).
"These brands had been offered for sale as a part of Womena First Healthcare's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing," Sun Pharma said in a media release.
Dilip Shanghvi, chairman and managing director of Sun Pharma, said: "The acquisition of these US brands will help us understand brand promotion in the US at a low cost. We are confident of unlocking the value of these brands. In the past too, we have acquired assets at a low cost and created value."
The company expects sales for some of these products to begin shortly.
Shanghvi was referring to the acquisition of Detroit-based generic manufacturer Caraco Pharma. The turnover of this company was $2.3 million in 2000 at the time of the acquisition. It shot up to over $45 million in 2003. Sun Pharma holds a 63 per cent stake in Caraco.
It also turned around the bulk active plant in Ahmednagar which it had acquired from Knoll Pharma. Sun Pharma took over another plant at Halol in 1997.
These units now hold international approvals. Womena First Health care had acquired the US rights for Bactrima from Roche, Ortho-EstA from Ortho- McNeil Pharmaceutical, and MidrinA from Elan for a total consideration of $25.7 million plus royalty payments, in 2001.
Sun Pharma has agreed to acquire the same rights for these products for the US market for a total $5.4 million (without any royalty commitment).
