Lupin buys US rights for cholesterol drug Antara
29 Sep 2009
Drug maker Lupin Ltd has acquired the US rights for cholesterol-lowering drug Antara (Fenofibrate) capsules of 43 mg and 130 mg from the bankrupt US drug company Oscient Pharmaceuticals for close to $38.61 million (Rs185.33 crore), the company stated from Mumbai on Monday.
Antara had annual sales of $85 million in the US. Antara currently has a 4.5 per cent share of the USs Fenofibrate market worth $1.9 billion, and grew by 20 per cent in revenue in the last year.
Lupin acquired the drug in a bidding process on 25 September under the procedures of the US Bankruptcy Court. Lupin outbid Akrimax Pharmaceuticals and the private equity player Paul Capital, and will fund the acquisition from internal accruals. Lupin had previously filed an ANDA with the US FDA to market generic versions of Fenofibrate capsules.
On 21 September, prior to the acquisition of Antara, Lupin sold its ANDA to Dr Reddy's Laboratories, the company said.
Meanwhile with two acquisitions of new drug applications in the US in three months, Lupin's appetite for more is ''far from satiated,'' said Nilesh Gupta, Lupin's group president and executive director.
In June, Lupin had announced the acquisition of intra-nasal steroid product AllerNaze (triamcinolone acetonide) from Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc for an undisclosed sum.