Dive Brief:
- Indian generics maker Lupin Ltd. on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Symbiomix Therapeutics LLC for $50 million upfront, adding the privately held biopharma's recently approved gynecologic treatment to its growing U.S. pharmaceutical business.
- Time-based payments push total cash consideration for the deal to $150 million, with the potential for additional contingent payments based on sales, Lupin said.
- In September, Symbiomix won an OK from the Food and Drug Administration for Solosec, a drug designed to treat bacterial vaginosis in adult women. While the vast majority of Lupin's U.S. revenues come from the sale of generic drugs, the drugmaker hopes Solosec can expand its branded presence in women's health.
Dive Insight:
Almost all of Lupin's more than $1 billion in U.S. sales come from its portfolio of generic drugs, with branded products accounting for only $78 million in revenue during the company's fiscal year ending March 31.
Still, Lupin sees specialty pharmaceuticals, particularly in women's health, as a potential source of growth. Last year, for instance, the Indian drugmaker picked up a treatment for postpartum bleeding in its acquisition of Gavis Pharmaceuticals LLC and Novel Laboratories Inc.
Adding Solosec is aimed at building on that platform.
"We are delighted to complete the acquisition of Symbiomix and its Solosec brand, which immediately expands Lupin’s US women’s health specialty business into the highly-complementary gynecological infection sector," said Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta.
Lupin has identified the next three years as a key time period for building its specialty pharmaceutical business, which it hopes will be a material contributor to revenues in 2020 and beyond.
But generics will remain the company's principal livelihood for the foreseeable future. Lupin currently estimates its generic drugs account for a roughly 5% share of the U.S. market by prescriptions. It has over 150 Abbreviated New Drug Applications pending at the FDA, the fourth largest pipeline of drugs waiting approval among generic companies.
Lupin sees complex generics being an increasingly important piece to the generics puzzle, particularly as top selling drugs like GlaxoSmithKline's Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol) lose patent protection.