Sun Pharma Inks Deal for Sterile Injectables Company
By Lori Clapper
Sun Pharma announced Wednesday that it has acquired Pharmalucence, a company best known for manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals. The company was purchased by one of Sun Pharma’s U.S.-based subsidiaries, which is hoping to complete the transaction by the end of 2014. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
This is Sun Pharma’s second buy out of the year, following the $3.2 billion “all-share transaction” to buy out Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals from Japan's Diiachi Sankyo in April 2014. With these two acquisitions under its belt, Sun made the jump to be the world’s fifth largest generic drug manufacturer.
Pharmalucence, which employs 100 people in its 70,000 square-foot facility, is the product of the 2007 management buy-out of CIS-US by three employees who put the company on track to become a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) and a radiopharmaceuticals manufacturer, according to the Business Standard. Its sterile injectable manufacturing and research capacities in the U.S. were attractive offerings to expand Sun’s portfolio, according to Live Mint.
In addition, Pharmalucence is in contract and private label formulation development and manufacturing services of non-cytotoxic human injectables in both liquid or lyophilized form, and its radiopharmaceuticals business commercializes products like Sestamibi, Mebrofenin, Pyrophosphate, DTPA, Hepatolite, Medronate, Sulfur Colloids, and radiopharmaceutical vial shields to key pharmacy chains including UPPI, Cardinal Health, Triad Isotopes, and GE.
Along with receiving FDA approval for new indications for its Sulfur Colloid product, it also achieved a significant milestone in April 2014 — one more step toward opening a new aseptic drug production facility in Massachusetts.
With Sun’s takeover, Hitesh Mahida, sector analyst with Antique Stock Broking, told Live Mint that Sulfur Colloid “provides better market potential for Sun Pharma.”
So far, Sun has generated $2.7 billion in revenue for the 2014 fiscal year, with the U.S. accounting for $1.6 billion of that amount.