Aurobindo, Intas in race for Teva's Irish generics business

Indian drug makers Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals and Intas are among final bidders to acquire the Irish generic business of Israeli drug firm Teva, as part of their plans to expand their European businesses.

Teva is selling the UK and Irish assets to comply with European anti-trust requirement following acquisition of drug maker Allergan last year.

A report in The Economic Times reported, quoting sources, that both players have submitted binding offers of around $1 billion along with firm financing commitments.

Intas, which markets its drugs in six European countries, also launched a biosimilar in Europe.

Aurobindo,  which acquired Actavis Pharma's operations in Europe for about Rs250 crore two years ago, giving it a strong foothold in the continent, is expanding its European business.

Analysts believe that if Aurobindo wins the bid for Teva's assets it will help it to consolidate its European operations which now account for around 28 per cent of its global revenue.

The company could use its manufacturing plants in India to supply products to Europe and boost margins.

''Export of active pharmaceutical ingredients to Europe is substantial while exports of generic formulations is rising. We are hopeful that that an acquisition of Teva's drugs will contribute to export growth in Europe,'' said P V Appaji, director general of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.