Cipla completes $550 mn acquisition of two US firms

Pharmaceutical firm Cipla today announced that its UK arm, Cipla (EU) has closed the USD 550 million deal to acquire two US-based firms, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals and Exelan Pharmaceuticals.
The acquisition was made by Cipla (EU) through a wholly- owned special purpose vehicle which would merge into InvaGen Pharmaceuticals after the acquisition, Cipla said in a BSE filing.
In September the company had announced that it would acquire the two US-based companies owned by one of the promoters of Hetero Group in an all cash transaction of USD 550 million (approx Rs 3,650 crore).
Cipla Global Chief Operating Officer Umang Vohra said: "The acquisition will further strengthen Cipla's presence in the US pharmaceutical market. InvaGen's balanced portfolio, robust manufacturing base and strong R&D capabilities will act as lever to expand Cipla's reach in the US market."

The company said the acquisition will give scale to its US business, currently 8 per cent of total revenue as well as providing a launchpad to introduce Cipla's pipeline of products in respiratory and injectables, among others, in the coming years.
The acquisition is second major buyout by Cipla in its 80 year history after the takeover of Cipla Medpro, South Africa.

Cipla said the combined revenue for the two US-based firms for the year-ended 2015 is over USD 230 million.
Combined with the pipeline of InvaGen products, the overall portfolio will be wide-ranging and will cover chronic therapies like CVS, CNS, respiratory, oncology and diabetes among others.

The acquisition of InvaGen pharmaceuticals also provides Cipla with about 40 approved ANDAs, 32 marketed products, and 30 pipeline products which are expected to be approved over the next 4 years, the company said.
In addition, InvaGen has filed five first-to-file products. Dosage forms include immediate release, modified release and extended release tablets and capsules. InvaGen has three units located in Long Island, NY, with a total production capacity of 12 billion tablets and capsules per annum and about 500 employees.
With this acquisition, Cipla will have more relevance to wholesale and retail customers, the company added.
Shares of Cipla were trading at Rs 523.75 in the mid-day trade, up 0.78 per cent from the previous close on BSE.