Granules to acquire 12.5 pc stake in USpharma

Hyderabad : Granules India Ltd said its wholly-owned subsidiary Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc will acquire a 12.5 per cent stake in US-based USpharma for an undisclosed sum.

According to a statement by Granules, the acquisition of the stake will enable it to participate in product selection and gain right of first refusal to market select products which are under development by USpharma.

USpharma is a development-stage pharmaceutical company specialising in research, development and manufacture of high entry-barrier generic pharmaceuticals, including controlled release, controlled substance and patent-challenge products.

USpharma, in collaboration with manufacturing partners, had submitted five ANDAs with Paragraph IV certifications, out of which four ANDAs have already been licensed to Granules exclusively, it said.

USpharma has formulation development and manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the US and a centre in Mumbai. It also has a CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) analytical laboratory in Kansas City, US.

Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, Chairman and Managing Director, Granules India said, "This agreement with USpharma complements our internal product development programme, and expands our product portfolio by leveraging external product development capabilities."

"The successful development of limited competition products by USpharma provides further long-term growth for the company.

"We are impressed with USpharma's product development capabilities with niche pipeline, and firmly believe that these products represent a substantial commercial opportunity," he added.