Ranbaxy uses US arm to stay in the race

Ranbaxy, facing data falsification charges from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) at one of its Indian facilities, has relied upon the drug making capabilities of its US subsidiary, Ohm Laboratories, to replenish its US product basket. The move could prove to be a costly option as production in the US does not have the same competitive advantage as in India, analysts say.

Ohm, acquired by Ranbaxy in 1995 as an over-the-counter drugs (common medicines that can be sold without a doctor’s prescription) maker for the US market, accounted for two of Ranbaxy’s recent US product approvals.

Ranbaxy got an approval to market generic version of Pfizer’s blood pressure drug, Accuretic (brand name of quinapril), from its Ohm facility today. Ohm had also received approval to manufacture the low-cost version of GSK’s blockbuster migrane medicine, Imetrix, last month.