Ranbaxy Board Approves Spin-off Of Drug Discovery Company
Ranbaxy Laboratories is moving to "de-merge" its drug discovery activities into a separate company with dedicated resources, the firm announced Oct. 18.
Ranbaxy, which, along with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, is consistently ranked at the top of India's drug company pyramid, made its fortune in generics but has moved in recent years to invest those funds in discovery research. The Gurgaon, India-based firm reported sales of $1.35 billion in 2006.
"Ranbaxy has state-of-the art research infrastructure and a highly skilled talent pool" that would work more effectively "through an independent vehicle," the company said. Details of the plan are to be finalized by the end of 2007.
The spin-off will also provide a platform for increased collaboration, the company said. In April, a discovery alliance between Ranbaxy and GlaxoSmithKline yielded its first clinical candidate. The compound, targeted for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is to be developed by Ranbaxy through proof of concept under an expansion of the agreement ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, April 3, 2007).
Also on Oct. 18, Ranbaxy announced earnings for the third quarter of 2007.
The firm reported sales of $406 million, an increase of 15 percent over $354 million in the same quarter of 2006. Year-to-date sales were $1.2 billion, compared with $959 million in the first three months of 2006.
Market share "almost doubled" for the company's branded generic acne treatment Sotret (isotretinoin), growing from 24 percent to 48 percent for the month of August, Ranbaxy reported. The firm strengthened its dermatology franchise in May with the acquisition of rights to 13 branded products from Bristol-Myers Squibb ("The Pink Sheet" DAILY, May 29, 2007).
-Shirley Haley
This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY – Oct. 22, 2007
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