Bayer AG agreed to form a joint venture to distribute pharmaceuticals in India with Cadila Healthcare Ltd. as the German drug and chemical company expands in faster-growing markets.
Each company will hold 50 percent of the shares in the Mumbai-based venture, which will be called Bayer Zydus Pharma, and have equal representation on the board, according to a statement today from Bayer. About 600 employees from both companies will work for the venture. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
The deal with Ahmedabad, India-based Cadila’s Zydus unit will help Bayer increase sales in India, the company said. Indian pharmaceutical revenue probably will grow about 13 percent annually the next two years, Firstcall India Equity Advisors Pvt. estimated in a Nov. 19 report. Drug sales in Europe, Japan and the U.S. will expand 4 percent annually through 2015, according to a report by IMS Health Inc.
“With this step we aim to significantly accelerate our capabilities to better serve the fast-growing Indian market,” Joerg Reinhardt, chief executive of Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer’s health-care unit, said in the statement. The venture will “enhance the launch of new products and the sales of existing brands.”
Bayer HealthCare will contribute its existing sales and marketing business in India to the venture, while Cadila will contribute its women’s health, diagnostic-imaging business and other products, according to a statement from Cadila. The venture will sell brands from both companies, such as Bayer’s blood thinner Xarelto and Cadila’s Euglim for diabetes.
Cadila manufactures pharmaceutical ingredients, branded and generic formulations, diagnostic kits and pharmaceutical machinery parts, according to its website. Cadila fell 1.7 percent to 815.2 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. close of trading in Mumbai.
No comments:
Post a Comment