Hikma still in 'acquisition mode' on APM buy

Only a matter of months after snapping up Egyptian manufacturer Alkan Pharma for $60.5m, APM has now been added to the Hikma family to boost the firm's position in the Middle East and North African (MENA) markets. APM is currently the third largest pharmaceutical company in Jordan with a market share of around 5 per cent, and brings an additional three manufacturing plants to boost Hikma's existing capacity. The APM plants are all based in Jordan and include facilities for the manufacture of oral and injectable penicillin, topical preparations, and lyophilised oncology products. London-based Hikma will now have a total of nine manufacturing facilities across the MENA region, with the new additions freeing up capacity at the firm's US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved plants to increase exports to the US. According to Hikma's CFO, Bassam Kanaan, speaking yesterday on a conference call regarding the deal, products manufactured by both companies will be reallocated to the "most appropriate and efficient​" facilities. Integrating APM into Hikma's operations is anticipated to result in a one-off cost of around $3m, with the firm expecting to have obtained full control of APM by the end of the year. The move is hoped to consolidate Hikma's position in the MENA region, particularly in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where the APM purchase now puts Hikma's market share at 12 per cent - more than twice that of it's nearest competitor, Dar al Dawa (with 5.3 per cent). Hikma has also landed a number of in-licensed products through the acquisition, including Takeda's blockbuster diabetes treatment, Actos (pioglitazone). With the August acquisition of Alkan, Hikma significantly increased its presence in Egypt, and intends to introduce APM products to both the Egyptian and Algerian markets, among others. Hikma has added a further 77 products to its portfolio through the purchase, spanning the cardiovascular, diabetes and oncology markets with oral, injectable and dermatological products. With APM currently operating in 14 MENA countries, the acquisition should help fulfil Hikma's aims of increasing its presence in the region, but according to CEO Said Darwazah, this is unlikely to be the end of the firm's spending spree: "We are still on acquisition mode in terms of consolidating our position in the MENA region,"​ he said.​