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BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT 20
April,2007:
In what could be termed as one of the big
Indian forays into the world’s second largest
pharma market, Zydus Cadila acquired 100 per cent
stake in Nippon Universal Pharmaceutical Ltd,
Tokyo.
Nippon provides an opportunity for the group to
establish itself in Japan's rapidly evolving
generics space. The Japanese generics market
valued at $3 bn has a tremendous growth potential
as it currently stands at just 5 per cent of the
total pharma market in Japan in value terms and 17
per cent by volume. The acquisition will provide
critical access to a ready manufacturing and
marketing base as well as a strong distribution
reach. Nippon reaches out countrywide to more than
4000 hospitals and clinics. This is expected to
provide a fillip to the group's operations in a
market that is highly complex and dominated by
local pharma companies.
Ahmedabad based Zydus which had set up Zydus
Pharma Inc in 2006 to spearhead its foray in the
generics market of Japan will now be able to
jumpstart its operations. Zydus will be looking to
leverage Nippon's strong relationship with key
wholesalers, which spans over three decades.
The group has identified a new product development
programme that will feed at least 5 to 6 products
each year to their portfolio and build a basket of
40-50 products over the next 3 to 4 years.
Moreover Zydus will acquire new marketing
authorisations (MA) from the market to cut short
on development time and would also explore
in-licensing agreements with other generic
companies. With a sizeable number of products in
its portfolio, the group will also be looking to
expand the field force to cover new areas and
customers in the medium term, the company said in
a press statement.
In this highly regulated market with high
expectations in terms of quality and consistency
of supplies, companies looking to consolidate
their presence have found the acquisition route
the most ideal one.
This marks Zydus Cadila's second overseas
acquisition, the first being Alpharma France in
2003. With a turnover of over Rs 1800 crore, Zydus
Cadila is a global healthcare provider and amongst
the leading healthcare groups in India. Starting
with the acquisition of Recon Healthcare in 2000,
Zydus Cadila went on to acquire German Remedies
Ltd., in 2001 and Banyan Chemicals in 2002. Most
recently the group made a foray in the 1500 crore
Derma market in India with the acquisition of the
Mumbai-based, Liva Healthcare.
BY OUR PHARMA CORRESPONDENT |
