Sun Pharma's US arm acquires Chattem

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the wholly-owned US subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd, has acquired 100 per cent stake in Chattem Chemicals Inc, a narcotic raw material importer registered with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The company will apply to regulatory authorities for appropriate clearances, as required, Sun Pharamceuticals said in a website release.

Chattem's raw material import list includes four controlled substances listed in Schedule 2: methamphetamine, phenylacetone, raw opium and concentrate poppy straw. Additionally, it is also licensed by the DEA to manufacture Schedule 1 to 5 controlled substances.

Chattem, with its facility spread over 6.5 acres in Chattanooga, Tennessee, employs 60 people and manufactures a variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with a focus on controlled substances.

For the year ended June 2008, Chattem is estimated to have sales of $26 million.

This is Sun Pharma's third acquisition of a controlled substance business. In 2005, Sun Pharma acquired a facility in Hungary authorised to make controlled  substance APIs, starting from the initial stage, ie, poppy farming. In the same year, the company acquired a brand new manufacturing site in New Jersey, equipped with special suites for the manufacture of controlled substances finished dosages.

''This acquisition reflects our strategic resolve to be a more active player in the pain management segment in the US,'' said Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma's chairman and managing director.

Based in India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd is an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company, manufacturing and marketing a large basket of pharmaceutical formulations as branded generics as well as generics in India, the US and several other markets across the world.