MNC rival trying to scuttle Daiichi deal: Ranbaxy

Mumbai: Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's largest drug maker, hit hard by reports of US regulatory probes, today said  the orchestrated reports are part of a ''larger game plan" by a multinational pharmaceutical firm to scuttle its deal with Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo.

''Clearly, there is a multinational company which tried to scuttle the deal,'' Ranbaxy chief executive Malvinder Singh said, without naming the company.

Ranbaxy, based in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, is reportedly battling charges by the US Justice Department that it sold substandard drugs. The department has filed a motion in a US district court against Ranbaxy alleging systematic fraudulent conduct and supplying fabricated information to the US FDA.

The department's move comes a month after Daiichi Sankyo, Japan's third-largest drugmaker, agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Ranbaxy for around $4.6 billion.

''All these issues have emerged after the deal with Daiichi Sankyo. This is a much larger issue. It is not only about Ranbaxy, but about high quality affordable generic drugs versus expensive innovative products," he said adding an MNC is trying to derail Ranbaxy's deal with Daiichi Sankyo.

He said the US congressional panel's move to probe approvals by the US FDA of the company's drug is a part of the larger game by an MNC.

Singh has denied the charges but said Ranbaxy will fully cooperate with the agencies, but ''will continue to supply high quality affordable generic drugs in the US market.''

He said the deal with Daiichi Sankyo has put Ranbaxy on a high growth path and some of the rivals did not like this to happen. Bu, he said, the agreement with Daiichi was binding.

''It is a landscape changer. We will have affordable high quality generic as well as innovative drug," he said, adding, the development would not necessarily affect its business in the US.

''I do not see its impact on the business. We will continue to supply our products there. Obviously there are people who are trying to affect us,"

A Ranbaxy statement yesterday said the company is ''in the process of submitting supporting documentation for its abbreviated new drug applications to the department of justice and believes that this will demonstrate no wrongdoing on its part.''
 
The charges, if proved, may put at risk Ranbaxy's sales in the US that contributed 24 per cent to revenue last year.