Lupin, the country's biggest maker of tuberculosis medicines, has bought Baroda-based Rubamin Laboratories (RLL), which will give it an entry into the global contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) business. The deal size was not disclosed. | |
| Rubamin manufactures advanced intermediates and specialises in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in drug-making. The eight-year-old company has a wide customer base in Europe. It has a turnover of about $10 million. |
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| RLL belonged to the Rubamin Group, whose main business is mining and metallurgy in India and Congo in Central Africa. RLL was hived into a separate company last year. |
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| Sathish Khanna, president, API, Lupin Group, said Lupin was strong in cephalosporins (antibiotics) and the TB drug range and Rubamin specialised in areas Lupin did not operate, which made it a perfect acquisition. |
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| "We will further invest in Rubamin to optimise the CRAMS opportunities. It has a good API research and development infratructure and we will integrate that with Lupin's 50-plus team of scientists working in the CRAMS space," Khanna said. |
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| "The acquisition enables us to step up our strategic initiative in the CRAMS segment," Lupin Chairman Desh Bandhu Gupta said. "We have a proven track record of achieving global position in every therapy that we have entered at the intermediate and API level." |
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| The global CRAMS market was estimated at $895 million in 2006 and growing at 43 per cent, according to business research and consulting company Frost & Sullivan. |
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| Nicholas Piramal, another Mumbai-based pharma company, is the leading CRAMS player. Divi's Laboratories, Dishman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Shasun are the other major players in this business in India. |
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