India-based generics manufacturer Dr Reddy’s announced in February that it will acquire a large portion of Wockhardt Ltd, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai.

Under the agreement, Dr Reddy’s will acquire select divisions of Wockhardt’s generics business in India as well as in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. The deal, which is worth close to US$260 million, will give Dr Reddy’s access to a portfolio of 62 products in a range of therapeutic areas including dermatology, gastroenterology and neurology. Products include the antihistamines Practin (Cyproheptadine) and Zedex (chlorpheniramine) and the anti-depressant Tryptomer (amitriptyline). Dr Reddy’s will also gain access to sales and marketing teams and a manufacturing plant in India, along with all its employees.

GV Prasad, Managing Director of Dr Reddy’s, said: ‘India is an important market for us, and this acquisition will help in considerably scaling-up our domestic business. The acquired portfolio shall enhance Dr Reddy’s presence in the high growth therapy areas with market leading brands’.

Habil Khorakiwala, Founder and Chairman of Wockhardt Group, added: ‘The divestment will ensure adequate liquidity to bring in robust growth in the chronic domestic branded business, international operations, investments in biosimilars for the US, apart from the company's global clinical trials of breakthrough anti-infectives and R & D activities’. The deal is expected to complete by May 2020.

Elsewhere in India, Strides (through its subsidiary Strides Pharma Global Pte Ltd) has acquired several generics from Pharmaceutics International. The agreement gives Strides exclusive market rights to 18 ANDAs. Of these, 11 have already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration while the remaining seven have been submitted to the Agency for review.

In addition, Stride will gain exclusive marketing rights for levothyroxine sodium tablets, a treatment for hypothyroidism. Bioequivalence studies have already been completed for the tablets against four reference products (Synthroid, AbbVie; Unithroid, Lannett; Levoxyl, King Pharmaceuticals; and Thyro-tabs, Lloyd). The deal is worth US$6.1 million in total.

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