Marksans sets sights on EU generics sector
The purchase, Marksans’ second in the UK this year after over-the-counter (OTC) drug firm Bell’s & Sons, grants the India group further access to the UK’s $7.6bn (€5.2bn) generics market.
The deal will see Marksans transfer the manufacture of some Relonchem’s roster of 36 licensed generic products, which generated revenue of $32m last year, to its facilities Goa, Pune and Maharashta.
The Indian firm believes that its existing contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) setup will shorten the development process and provide the integrated company with the flexibility to adapt to the highly competitive and ever shifting European generics sector.
Rajesh Vig, executive director of PriceWaterhousCooper’s corporate finance department, said that the deal, which provides Marksans with a European front end for its business, makes sense in the current economic climate.
He explained that: “With global pharmaceutical companies facing tremendous pressure due to a drying R&D drug pipeline, rising costs and imminent generic competition from drugs going off patent, the generic drug market is the next big opportunity in the industry.”
Ex-India revenues to reach 60%
In an interview with India’s CNBC-TV18, Marksans’ managing director Mark Saldanha, said that the move is part of an expansion effort that will see the Indian firm generate around 60 per cent of its revenue from global markets in the next few years.
Saldanha commented that: “There is tremendous potential with Marksans being fully integrated into formulation as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).” He added that the Marksans’ low-cost manufacturing capacity will add tremendous value and allow the firm to fully exploit the European opportunities provided by the deal.
Saldanha went on to say that Marksans is also considering making US acquisitions, and added that the firm is currently in talks with several potential targets.
Relonchem CEO John Ruprai said that joining the Marksans group will “carry forward [Relonchem’s] market leadership in generic manufacturing in the UK and Europe.”
He added that the India group’s manufacturing base will provide “tremendous cost benefits” and allow it to serve its customers in a more efficient way in the increasingly competitive market.
