Indoco Remedies to buy Piramal's clinical research business

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drugmaker Indoco Remedies Ltd said on Wednesday it would buy Piramal Enterprises Ltd's clinical research business for an undisclosed amount to reduce its research costs.

Piramal Clinical Research, the Hyderabad-based contract research organisation (CRO), conducts clinical trials for generic drugs, and is approved by the U.S. and UK health regulators, Indoco said.

The business is being acquired on a going-concern basis, said Indoco, a mid-sized firm that makes both finished drugs and drug ingredients for export across 35 countries.

Piramal, a conglomerate with businesses in healthcare and financial services, said the CRO was not a strategic fit for the company and formed a "relatively small" portion of its entire business.

Piramal does not expect any financial impact from the sale, which is expected to be completed by April 6, the company said in a separate statement.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)