March 30, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
MUMBAI, India -- Sun Pharma secured a firm toehold in the Japanese market after it struck a $293 million deal with Novartis AG to acquire 14 of Novartis’s branded drug portfolio program in that country, the company announced this morning.
The drugs acquired by India’s largest pharmaceutical company have an annual value of about $160 million, Sun said. These drugs will provide the company a secure position in Japan, the second largest pharmaceutical market after the United States. Japan’s pharmaceutical market was estimated at about $73 billion at the end of 2015.
“Japan is a market of strategic interest for us. This acquisition marks Sun Pharma’s foray into the Japanese prescription market and provides us an opportunity to build a larger product portfolio in the future,” Dilip Shanghvi, the managing director of Sun Pharma, said in a statement.
This is generic-drugmaker Sun’s second deal involving Japan. Last year the company completed the acquisition of Ranbaxy Labs from Japanese-based Daiichi Sankyo. Sun Pharma, based in Mumbai, acquired Ranbaxy for $3.2 billion from Daiichi in 2014. The merger propelled Sun Pharma into the top five generic drugmakers in the world, with products sold in more than 150 nations across five continents. The merger is expected to allow Sun Pharma to expand its research and development capabilities and enhance its product pipeline in established markets, such as the United States, as well as in emerging markets.
Sun Pharma said the drugs acquired from Novartis will address several medical needs, although the company did not specify the conditions, nor the medications. Until the deal is finalized, Novartis will continue to distribute the brands. Following the completion of the transaction, Sun said the drugs will be distributed by a “local marketing partner” under the Sun Pharma label. Sun Pharma has a portfolio of more than 3,000 molecules to treat multiple ailments, including psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, orthopedic, diabetes-related illnesses, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, urology, dermatology, gynecology, respiratory, oncology, dental and nutritionals.
Sun Pharma is not the first Indian company to venture into the Japanese Market. Lupin Ltd. also has a firm foundation in Japan. Livemint reported the company sees about 12 percent of its annual revenue from sales in Japan. With the aging population in Japan, the government has allowed a number of generic drugs to be available to its population. The population of people over the age of 65 accounts for about 50 percent of healthcare expenses in the country, Livemint said.
Shares of Sun Pharma jumped on the Mumbai Stock Exchange after news of the deal to 814.40 rupees, about a 2 percent increase.
