Ranbaxy Brand Will Be Retained in Most Markets After Sun Pharma Takeover
By C. Rajan, contributing writer
In the wake of its acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's pharmaceutical giant, Sun Pharmaceuticals intends to retain Ranbaxy's brands in most markets. It is however considering phasing out the Ranbaxy name in the U.S. due to its recent regulatory troubles.
A spokesman at Sun Pharma said, “We intend to retain all of Ranbaxy’s brands in, more or less, all markets. The brand itself has a rich heritage and value. Though no specific details have been worked out, Sun would like to preserve the Ranbaxy brand in geographies where it is an asset and has a perceived value.”
Sun Pharma plans to make remedying the current regulatory issues at Ranbaxy a high priority after it takes control of the business. Sun Pharma will need to get the U.S. FDA sanctions lifted from Ranbaxy’s India factories in order to access Ranbaxy’s product pipeline that includes the generic versions of some key market players like Nexium (a heartburn drug which raked in $3.8 billion globally last year). Sun Pharma will also benefit from Ranbaxy's other products and distribution agreements such as for Absorica (Ranbaxy's recent isotretinoin deal with Cipher).
Sun Pharma also plans to increase investments in research and development after the merger to cover a wider range of products and markets.
The merger with Ranbaxy makes Sun Pharma India's largest pharmaceutical company and the fifth largest specialty generics company in the world. The combined Sun-Ranbaxy entity will have operations in 65 countries, 47 manufacturing facilities across five continents, and a significant platform of specialty and generic products marketed globally, including 629 Abbreviated New Drug Applications.
The Sun-Ranbaxy combined entity had overall revenues of close to $4.2 billion in 2013. It is approaching $1 billion in yearly sales in high-growth emerging markets, and is working on expanding its presence in U.S. and western Europe. In India, Sun Pharma has 31 brands in the top 300, and after the Ranbaxy merger, it will control 40-60 percent of the market share for several leading drugs in India.
Sun Pharmaceuticals has also recently announced a buyout of US-based Pharmalucence Inc. The deal will help Sun enter into the new area of radio pharmaceuticals and strengthen its presence in the injectable market in the U.S. A leading manufacturer of radio pharmaceuticals, Pharmalucence received FDA approval in 2011 and 2012 for two new indications for its Sulfur Colloid injectable product for cancer treatment.