Topical drug delivery firm snapped up by Dr Reddy's
brings in a proprietary drug delivery technology that could be
applied across a whole range of dermatological products.
The Indian company has paid $11 million (€9.3m) for Trigenesis Therapeutics, a move designed to bolster its product range and pipeline in the wake of its disappointment earlier this year when it failed to win US approval for a generic version of amlodipine, a widely-used cardiovascular drug.
The acquisition gives Dr Reddy's access to a series of dermatological drug delivery technologies developed by UK company SkyePharma and SilvaFoam of the US.
SkyePharma sold its dermatology assets to Trigenesis late last month assets for $20 million. They consist of the residual rights (in territories where they have not already been licensed) to three marketed products, rights to six pipeline products and rights to a range of six proprietary and complementary dermatological delivery technologies.
"This acquisition provides Dr Reddy's with access to products and proprietary drug delivery technology platforms for developing a pipeline of differentiated drugs in the dermatology segment," said the Indian firm in a statement.
The global market for prescription dermatology products was worth $8 billion in 2003 and is growing at approximately 10 per cent a year. The global total included a $2.5 billion market for antifungal products and $1.5 billion markets for acne products and for products for dermatitis and psoriasis, the balance being made up of products for miscellaneous minor indications. The market is very fragmented, with no dominant company, but Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Roche and Schering-Plough are all significant participants.
