Piramal buys Cipla’s i-pill brand

Piramal Healthcare,an Ajay Piramal enterprise,has acquired Cipla’s i-pill brand in the country. Piramal Healthcare and Cipla have entered into an agreement whereby the former will buy all intellectual property rights of the brand in India for Rs 95-crore. The acquisition of i-pill strengthens Piramal’s over the counter (OTC) portfolio which has strong consumer brands such as Lacto Calamine skin-care range,Supractiv Complete,Saridon and Polycrol antacid,the release said.

i-pill is an emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) used to prevent unplanned pregnancy and is available over the counter at local chemists. i-pill features in the top-300 pharmaceutical products and had sales of Rs 30.92-crore as per ORG IMS for the last 12-months,the release said. The OTC market in India is estimated to be around USD 1.8-billion and is growing annually at 18 per cent. “We believe the OTC segment is still in its nascent stages in India and presents us with high growth opportunities. In particular the ECP segment which is approximately Rs 100-crore has grown by 250 per cent in the last two-years,” Piramal Healthcare’s chairman Ajay Piramal said.