Wockhardt Pining For European Expansion, Follow-On Biologics Growth
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Wockhardt Limited's $150 mil. acquisition of Irish generic drug firm Pinewood will give the India-based firm a foothold in the European market
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Wockhardt Limited's $150 mil. acquisition of Irish generic drug firm Pinewood will give the India-based firm a foothold in the European market. Under the terms of the Oct. 3 deal, Wockhardt paid entirely in cash for Ireland's largest generic firm. Wockhardt estimated that the addition would likely translate into over $200 mil. in annual European sales, which would account for about 50% of its total sales. Pinewood's generic pharma portfolio includes 43 products, including products that have recently gone off-patent, such as simvastatin (Merck's Zocor ) and sertraline (Pfizer's Zoloft ). The acquisition of Pinewood, which mostly sells its products in Ireland and the U.K., builds on Wockhardt's U.K. presence established through contract manufacturing arrangements with companies including AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough. What may be Wockhardt's strength, however, is its follow-on biologics pipeline. The company has already developed erythropoietin (Amgen's Epogen ), hepatitis b vaccine, insulin, and interferon alpha-2b (Schering's Intron A ). Twenty registrations are pending before regulatory agencies with more than 40 candidates in the pipeline. Wockhardt has said its follow-on generics strategy is to introduce one biopharma product every year, with an eye toward potential alliances with biotechs in the U.S. and European Union. In the small molecule space, Wockhardt is focused on anti-infectives. There are two clinical compounds, WCK-771 in Phase II for resistant infections and WCK-1152 in Phase I for respiratory infections. Three other compounds are in preclinical stages. - Jonathan M. Block This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY - October 4, 2006 |