Zydus Cadila acquires six brands from American pharma MSD

Pharmaceutical major, Zydus Cadila on Wednesday announced that its wholly owned subsidiary company Zydus Healthcare Ltd has acquired six brands from American pharma company, MSD and its subsidiaries.

Though the companies have not disclosed the financial details of the deal.

The acquired brands include: DECA-DURABOLIN, DURABOLIN, SUSTANON, MULTILOAD, SICASTAT and AXETEN range, which fall in the men’s health, women’s health, wound management and cardiovascular therapy segments, respectively, the company said in a press release.

Commenting on the acquisition, Dr. Sharvil Patel, Chairman of Zydus Healthcare, said, "We have a longstanding association with MSD in India and value them as a partner. The brands with their strong equity are a perfect addition and complement our core business and brands. We look at this as a great opportunity to strengthen our core offerings to create value and growth."

The deal points out the transfer of distribution and commercialization rights and assignment of trademarks of all the six brands to Zydus in India.

With this acquisition, Zydus aims at strengthening portfolio in key therapeutic segments. Moreover, as per the dral, Organon (India) Private Ltd, one of the legal subsidiaries through which MSD operates its business in India has also transferred the distribution and commercialization rights for DECA-DURABOLIN and DURABOLIN to Zydus for Nepal.

"The brands DECA-DURABOLIN and DURABOLIN are amongst the widely prescribed drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis, muscle wasting and management of negative nitrogen balance.  SUSTANON is the best-known form of injectable testosterone in the men’s health segment and is used as a testosterone replacement therapy by general practitioners, consultant physicians and andrologists.  The acquired portfolio had clocked  sales of Rs.840 million in 2015", the company said. 

On Wednesday, the shares of Zydus Wellness closed at Rs 870.60 per share, up 4.26%, or Rs 35.55 on BSE.