Takeda Pharmaceutical Co is selling its USA-based URL Pharma generic business, ie excluding the gout drug Colcrys, to Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' Caraco unit.
Takeda only bought URL in June, in an $800 million deal that was principally driven by the desire to get access to Colcrys (colchicine). Net sales for the gout treatment reached $155 million from June 1 to September 30 this year.
The Japan-headquartered firm is now divesting the non-Colcrys assets of URL, a privately-held Philadelphia-based firm before the Takeda buy. Financial details have not been disclosed and Caraco will now take over the reins, subject to regulatory approvals.
Douglas Cole, president of Takeda's US arm, said that the addition of Colcrys has allowed the company "to become a leader in gout, which is part of our strategy to focus on best-in-class, innovative pharmaceuticals". He added that URL has "many great assets" and Takeda has been "committed to finding a buyer for the remaining business that would be dedicated to leveraging all that URL has to offer".
This is Sun's second acquisition in the USA in just over a month. In November, the Mumbai-based group said it would spend $230 million to buy US dermatology specialist Dusa Pharmaceuticals.
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