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Ranbaxy Laboratories on Monday concluded and signed the acquisition of RPG Aventis in France and announced that it is now looking at buying pharmaceutical companies with strong brands in the US. The company is also eyeing acquisitions in the domestic market.
Ranbaxy’s newly appointed CEO designate and joint managing director Dr Brian Tempest said, ‘‘We are looking at more brand-driven acquisitions in the US market. We are keen to acquire brands in therapeutic areas of antibiotics and urology in that market.’’
‘‘In the domestic market, we are looking at options carefully. We are looking at synergies and at therapeutic areas where we have a minority share and want to expand,’’ Dr Tempest added.
‘‘In the US, Ranbaxy’s generic business is already flowing well and we are keen to add more branded products.’’ A team of experts is already on the job looking at brand opportunities, he added. With the acquisition of RPG Aventis (the generic arm of Aventis) in France, the company has now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories. ‘‘The acquisition will give us a significant presence in the European market and France in particular,’’ Dr Tempest said.
Ranbaxy will retain the name RPG, to leverage its strong brand equity and visibility in the French generic market. Ranbaxy will be investing additional resources on the ground and will further strengthen and grow this business in the French market. RPG (Aventis) was ranked fifth in the French generic market with sales of $64.7 million (IMS-MAT November 2003) and a market share of over 6 per cent. RPG Aventis has a wide range of 52 molecules, with 18 out of the 20 best selling molecules as its strong product portfolio. It is present in major therapeutic areas of the company, including cardiovasculars, anti-infectives, gastro-intestinals, rheumatoid/non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, neurology and analgesics.
France is the fourth largest pharmaceutical market globally with sales of $19.2 billion (MAT December 2002), growing at 4 per cent annually and constituting around 4.8 per cent of the world pharmaceutical market. The generic market in France is about $809 million and is the 5th largest after US, Japan, Germany and UK.
