Pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical, on Wednesday, said that it has acquired Pharmalucence Inc, a US based injectable company for an undisclosed sum.
Sun Pharma acquires US-based injectable company Pharmalucence
Pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical, on Wednesday, said that it has acquired Pharmalucence Inc, a US based injectable company for an undisclosed sum.
In a filing on BSE, Sun Pharma said, "Pharmalucence has sterile injectable capacity in the US, supported by strong R&D capabilities." The acquisition was done through one of Sun Pharma's subsidiaries.
However, Sun Pharma spokesperson declined to comment on the financial detail of the deal.
Pharmalucence, a New England-based company, is engaged in contract and private label formulation development and manufacturing services of non-cytotoxic human injectables in either liquid or lyophilized form.
Ranjit Kapadia, senior VP – pharma, Centrum Broking, said, "This looks like a small acquisition since the acquired company employs about 100 employees. It is obvious that the company is looking at strengthening its injectable portfolio. Also, the nearness to the market would also act in advantage of Sun Pharma. Pharmalucence is also anticipating FDA approval on its new facility this year which means Sun Pharma would get a ready-made facility in the US."
In 2010, Pharmalucence announced its plan to construct a state-of-the-art, 70,000 square foot pharmaceutical production facility and new corporate headquarters at Billerica, Massassuchets. The company is anticipating final inspection and regulatory approval of the new facility in 2014.
According to the company website, Pharmalucence currently manufactures its own line of diagnostic commercial products (non-radioactive radiopharmaceuticals). In addition to these products, it manufactures a number of products on a contract basis for pre-clinical, clinical and commercial needs and has extensive experience with technology transfers from existing commercial sites.
In another development, Bangalore-based Strides Arcolab also announced, on Wednesday, that it has made a series of strategic investments in Oncobiologics Inc, a privately-held New Jersey based biopharmaceutical firm developing a pipeline of biosimilars and next generation biotherapeutics. The financial terms, however, were not disclosed.
"Strides is a long-term strategic partner and we look forward to their support and guidance as we continue to execute our business and technical plans," said Oncobiologics founder & CEO Pankaj Mohan in a statement.
Oncobiologics was founded by a team of experts from firms such as Eli Lily, Bristol-Myers Squibbs, Amgen, Genentech, Merck and Pfizer. The company operates from a state-of-art 40,000 sq ft fully integrated R&D and manufacturing facility in Cranbery, New Jersey.