Dive Brief:
- India's Piramal is adding to its critical care portfolio with the acquisition of several drugs from Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. The deal will close over the next week.
- Piramal is paying $155 million upfront, as well as $20 million in additional payments for five injectable versions of well-known Janssen brands.
- Those products include Sublimaze (fentanyl citrate), Sufenta (sufentanil citrate), Rapifen (alfentanil hydrochloride), Dipidolor (piritramide), and Hypnomidate (etomidate) – all painkillers and analgesics used in the hospital setting.
Dive Insight:
The Mumbai company is bolstering its position in injectable generics. These drugs typically face little competition because they are hard to replicate due to the complicated nature of developing injectables and their status as controlled substances.
For this reason, Piramel will acquire all of the associated intellectual property as well as know-how to make the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and dosage forms. Janssen will provide finished dosage forms for up to three years and API for up to five years.
Janssen will also continue marketing the products until the relevant marketing authorizations can be transferred over to Piramal.
"Healthcare is an important focus area for Piramal Enterprises and we are strongly committed to growing this segment. The healthcare segment has grown at 17% CAGR over the last five years. This would be our 6th healthcare acquisition in the last two years," said Piramel Enterprises Chairman Ajay Piramal.
Piramal CEO Peter DeYoung noted that the company is currently the third largest player in the inhalable anesthesia market. These product acquisitions allow the company to become a player in the injectable side of that space.