Zydus Cadila buys Biochem

Ahmedabad-based pharma major, Zydus Cadila, has acquired 100 per cent stake in Biochem, a Mumbai-based mid-sized drug company. Biochem has presence in therapeutic areas of antibiotics, cardiovascular, anti-diabetic and oncological segments. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Biochem had reported sales of Rs 264.5 crore for 2010-2011. 

Established in 1959, Biochem has strong presence in manufacturing and marketing of antibiotics. The top five brands of the company are Ampilox, Biotax, Monotax, Amicin and  Zithrocin, which together contribute 40 per cent of the company’s sales. Three of Biochem’s brands fall in the top 300 pharma brands of India, stated a Cadila release. 

India, as one of the fastest growing drug market, lures more local players to strengthen presence through domestic  acquisitions.

According to a recent PricewaterhouseCooper report, Indian pharma industry is expected to touch $74 billion (Rs 3.7 lakh crore) sales by 2020 from $11 billion (Rs 55,000 crore) now.

"Aggregate disclosed value of merger & acquisitions (M&A) deals in the pharmaceuticals sector surged from a meagre $1.2 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) in FY10 to $4 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) in FY11, reflecting a jump of more than 230 per cent, says an E&Y report. M&A has emerged as one of the key strategies in the last two to three years to gain a foothold in emerging markets with several big ticket acquisitions, it added.

A few years earlier, Alembic had acquired Dabur's non-oncology business for $35 million (Rs 175 crore). 

Zydus Cadila’s Chairman and Managing Director, Pankaj R Patel said, “The formulations business in India has always been the bulwark of our operations and we have looked at every strategic opportunity to grow and contribute to this market, either by way of novel initiatives, collaborations or acquisitions. Biochem represents the right fit as they have a significant presence in our core therapy areas and also add value to our product offerings in the key growth segments.”

On Wednesday, shares of Zydus Cadila went down by 0.98 per cent to close at Rs 701.05 on BSE. 

In June, Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, the US-subsidiary of Zydus had acquired US-based pharmaceutical company Nesher Pharmaceuticals Inc for an undisclosed amount