Daiichi Sankyo seeks to buy three mid-sized Indian pharma firms: report

Daiichi Sankyo, which in 2008 acquired Ranbaxy, is in takeover talks with at least three mid-sized Indian pharmaceutical companies, The Economic Times today reported, citing unnamed sources.

Daiichi Sankyo has appointed IMS Consulting Services for the talks and is seeking companies with an annual turnover of Rs300-500 crore that have drugs for treating diabetes, rheumatology and woman's healthcare.

The newspaper said that while the promoter of one such company confirmed that talks were on, IMS refused to comment and Daiichi Sankyo did not respond to its query.

Tokyo-based Daiichi made its last acquisition in April 2011, when it spent $935 million to purchase Berkeley, California-based cancer drug firm Plexxikon in order to step up its presence in the oncology market. 

However, its biggest acquisition to date is the 2008 purchase of a majority stake in generic drug company Ranbaxy Laboratories, for around $4.6 billion.

Formed through the 2006 merger between Daiichi and Sankyo pharmaceutical companies, Daiichi Sankyo expanded its generic drug business by establishing Daiichi Sankyo Espha Co in 2010.