Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Torrent buys Pfizer generic arm in Germany
Our Regional Bureau / Ahmedabad June 28, 2005
Acquisition excludes manufacturing units which will be retained by Heumann PCS.
Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd has acquired Heumann Pharma GmbH and Co Generica KG (Heumann Pharma Generics) of Germany through its wholly-owned German subsidiary, Torrent Pharma GmbH (TPG).
Heumann Pharma Generics, a Pfizer group company, is into the business of marketing generic medicines in Germany under the brand name Heumann.
Heumann Pharma Generics had sales of euro 50 million for the financial year ended November 30, 2004 and is ranked 11th in the German generic market.
Though Torrent executives did not disclose the size of the deal, they said the acquisition excludes manufacturing facilities which will be retained by Heumann PCS GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer group.
Heumann Pharma Generics will source its products partly from Pfizer Heumann PCS GmbH facility in Germany and partly from third party manufacturers.
As part of the agreement, Heumann Pharma Generics will continue to procure part of its requirements of formulations from Heumann PCS GmbH, for a specified period. Support services will also be provided by Pfizer entities in Germany till April 2006 to facilitate smooth transition.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to be completed by August, 2005. The acquisition will give TPL access to the 90-year-old Heumann brand name, 315 marketing authorisations and 34 product registration applications, together giving TPL a strong presence in Germany.
Germany is euro 8-billion generic pharmaceutical market, EU’s biggest with high generic penetration and expected to grow.
TPL believes that the Heumann brand has a strong equity in the generic medicines segment with the doctors. The present product portfolio consists of 116 products, predominantly sold under prescription.
Its products are distributed through major wholesalers and pharmacies backed by experienced sales and marketing organisation comprising 165 people covering physicians and pharmacists.
Heumann’ product portfolio provides good strategic fit and strong market position to TPL, with cardiovascular, gastro-intestinal and anti infective therapies constituting around 75 per cent portfolio. TPL hopes to drive future growth using the Heumann platform to sell these products in Germany and other EU countries.
The EU approved manufacturing facility at Indrad in India will allow reducing the cost of goods and improve margins. Strong market position, increased growth and margin expansion will drive the future value of the acquisition for TPL.