Tamil Nadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals, (TDPL), a Rs 60-crore company is being merged with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (SPIL), the Rs 190 crore Baroda-based major. The boards of the two companies are meeting on May 16 to decide on the swap ratio.
The merger will allow SPIL to tap TDPL's strong research base, while TDPL will gain access to wider markets through Sun Pharma's strengths in overseas markets.
Sun Pharma will get a foothold in the southern markets and also expand its research and product development plans, besides gaining one more bulk drug plant in addition to the ones at Panoli and Ahmednagar. Since TDPL has filed registrations for four bulk drugs in the US and Europe and its plant at Chennai has been recently upgraded to international standards, the merger will boost SPIL's export efforts. The company is targeting a 45 per cent export growth by the year 2000.
SPIL already has its products registered in 16 countries while efforts are on for registration in five other countries. It has a strong portfolio in cardiology, psychiatry, neurology and gastroenterology with two of its products, Monotrate and Syndopa, being the top selling brands in the cardio vascular and anti-Parkinson drug categories. The merger will add oncology, biotechnology and anaesthesiology products to SPIL's portfolio.
The merger will give Sun Pharma the benefit of TDPL's 400 strong field force. SPIL, currently has 650 people in its marketing divisions called Aztec, Synergy, Sun Division, Incare and Sunrise. SPIL proposes to shift hi-tech products coming in through the merger to its marketing division Incare which caters to the requirements of intensive care units (ICUs). TDPL makes 36 formulations including antihypertensives, antiepileptics, anaesthetics, analgesics and recombinant products. It is the only indigenous producer of the anticancer drugs cisplatin, carboplatin and formestane.
Dilip Sanghvi, Sun Pharma managing director said, "TDPL's strenghths in research, specially in the areas of across bulk drugs and formulations, will supplement our product development plans for our newly launched Incare division.
We are now even better placed to compete internationally."
Mohanchand Dadha, managing director at TDPL, said "This merger offers us benefits of size. With access to resources we can now accelerate commercialisation of 18 products developed inhouse. Post merger, SIPL's international strenghths will allow us access to foreign markets."
SPIL had earlier acquired a 51 per cent stake in MJ Pharmaceuticals and had made an open offer to the shareholders of Gujarat Lyka, which did not receive much response. Sun Pharma had also purchased a plant in the US from Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs Ltd, a generic drug manufacturer.
