Another day, and another European generics company falls into the hands of India’s acquisitive pharmaceutical manufacturers.
In the latest deal to be announced, India’s largest drugmaker Ranbaxy has gloved Romanian generics house Terapia in a deal valued at $324 million, which comes right after the Indian firm announced an agreement to buy the generics business of GlaxoSmithKline’s Italian subsidiary Allen SpA for an undisclosed sum.
“The transaction is compelling and furthers us on our path to becoming a top five global generic company,” Malvinder Mohan Singh, the chief executive of Ranbaxy said in a statement.
Terapia is the largest drug company in Romania with annual sales of around $80 million. Romania’s drug market is growing at one of the fastest rates in Europe. It is forecast to reach a value of around $2.2 billion in 2007, with product consumption valued at $100 per person, up from a level of around $945 million in 2005.
Singh said the Terapia acquisition “unleashes multiple synergies of product development, product flow, low-cost manufacturing, proximity and access to high growth markets.”
He also noted that Romania’s entry into the European Union, due on January 1, 2007, opens up additional opportunities for market expansion.
Other major acquisitions of European generics companies in recent months include Dr Reddy’s purchase of German firm Betapharm for $570 million, the largest deal of this type to date, Torrent Pharmaceuticals acquisition of Heumann Pharma for an undisclosed sum, and Matrix Laboratories 217 million-euro stake in Belgium’s Docpharma.
Terapia’s 157 marketing authorisations are focused on the cardiovascular, central nervous system musculoskeletal therapeutic segments, which make up 71% of domestic sales. Its top products include enalapril, spironolactone/furosemide and pentoxifylline.
