Aurobindo, Intas seek to boost Europe business with Teva bid

Indian drug makers Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals and Intas are in the race to acquire Teva's generic drugs in Britain as a part of their plans to expand their European businesses.

Israel-based Teva, the largest generic drugmaker in the world, has put its products in Britain and Ireland on the block as a part of anti-trust requirement following acquisition of drug maker Allergan last year.

A report in The Economic Times said Aurobindo and Intas had submitted binding offers for Allergan's products which are valued over a $ 1 billion.

Aurobindo and Intas executives were not available for comment.

Intas, which markets its drugs in six European countries, also launched a biosimilar in Europe. Meanwhile Aurobindo is expanding its European business. Two years ago it acquired Actavis Pharma's operations in Europe for about Rs 250 crore giving it a strong foothold in the continent.

Analysts believe that if Aurobindo wins the bid for Teva's assets it will help it to consolidate its European operations which now account for around 28 per cent of its global revenue. The company could use its manufacturing plants in India to supply products to Europe and boost margins.

“Export of active pharmaceutical ingredients to Europe is substantial while exports of generic formulations is rising. We are hopeful that that an acquisition of Teva's drugs will contribute to export growth in Europe,” said P V Appaji, director general of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.