Baxter International, Torrent Pharma and Others Reportedly in Talks to Acquire CLARIS U.S. Injectables Unit

Baxter International, Torrent Pharma and Others Reportedly in Talks to Acquire CLARIS U.S. Injectables Unit August 10, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

MUMBAI, India – Claris Pharmaceuticals is entertaining offers from suitors looking to acquire its U.S.-based injectable drug business, which could go for up to $500 million, Bloomberg reported this morning.

Potential buyers for the business include U.S.-based Baxter International , as well as Indian companies like Cadila Healthcare, Intas Pharmaceuticals and Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg said. However, the rumored sale has not sent shares of Claris soaring this morning. Shares are slightly down, trading at 247 Indian rupees this morning.

This is not the first time Claris has considered selling its injectables business, which is based in New Jersey. Last year Claris Lifesciences, the name of the U.S. company, was rumored to be up for sale, with big pharma like Pfizer , Amneal and Novartis lining up. However, Claris said that had not been the case, saying in a February statement that it had “neither considered nor taken any decision in this regard.”

Also last year, there were rumors that one of India’s largest drugmakers, Cadila Healthcare Ltd. was looking to snap up Claris’ injectables business for a rumored price of $534 million.

Claris’ injectables business was spun off into its own entity, Claris Injectables Limited, in October of 2014. The Economic Times of India reported this was a sign to many potential investors that Claris as seeking to divest itself of the injectables business. Claris Injectables manufactures products that “range across various therapeutic segments, including anesthesia, blood products, anti-infectives, and plasma volume expanders.” The company operates three manufacturing facilities at a campus located in Ahmedabad, India.

Claris has had no shortage of alleged suitors primarily due to the company’s access to emerging markets in Russia and Brazil. Claris Injectables contributed about $30 million to its parent company during the first quarter of the year, Bloomberg said. The injectables business is the strongest revenue driver of the Claris Pharmaceuticals.

In 2013 there were also rumors that Teva Pharmaceuticals was interested in acquiring Claris’ injectables. Pfizer was also rumored to have been interested at the time.

Pfizer and Claris already had an established relationship, but that coupling soured in 2010 when the New York-based company recalled Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin and Ondansetron IV Products due to the presence of floating matter and non-sterility discovered by the Claris Laboratories.

The injectables business has been seen as an area of growth, following Mylan ’s 2013 decision to acquire Strides Arcolab's injectables unit for $1.6 billion and Hospira’s 2009 acquisition of Orchid's injectables business for $400 million.

Claris is one of the few independently owned injectables businesses remaining in India.

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