Ahmedabad based multinational pharma major Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited (Torrent) today, announced the acquisition of Bio-Pharm, Inc. (BPI) a generic pharmaceuticals and OTC Company, based in Levittown Pennsylvania, USA. US tax policy, which slashed tax rates to around 21%, has certain advantages for Indian drug makers. Big companies like Sun Pharma, Cadila, Aurobindo and Torrent are looking to acquire manufacturing assets in the US.
“This acquisition is an important step for increasing Torrent’s presence in the United States, is consistent with our strategy of dosage form diversification, and provides us with new capabilities including manufacturing and R&D presence in the USA. it plans further investments to expand the BPI facilities, including its research and development (R&D) capabilities, and increase the number of product filings from BPI,” the Ahmedabad-based company said.
Bio-Pharm, Inc. (BPI), which has a 75,000 sqft manufacturing facility, boasts of 10 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has another 10 ANDAs — or applications for approval of a generic drug product — under review at FDA while its partners have an additional 17 products under development.Established in 1992, BPI has a proven track record in the research & development and manufacturing of oral solutions, suspensions and suppositories. Its 75,000 sq. ft US FDA registered facility has manufacturing capabilities for controlled substances which can be manufactured in US only as per Government guidelines (DEA Schedule II-V). To date, BPI has 10 approved ANDAs, 10 ANDAs under review at the FDA for itself and it’s partners and has an additional 17 products under development. Torrent plans further investments to expand the BPI facilities including R&D capabilities and will increase the number of product filings from BPI.
Torrent Pharma, with annual revenues of more than Rs. 5800 crores is the flagship Company of the Rs. 18,300 crore Torrent Group.Torrent Pharma continues to be at the forefront of the Indian pharmaceutical industry with many of its products ranking among the top 500 brands (AIOCD Dataset) in India. Its widespread international presence also includes several markets where Torrent is amongst the leading pharmaceutical companies in the respective countries. Torrent has a fully equipped Research Center, employing almost 900 scientists, to support the Company’s operations and product pipeline for both Domestic and Overseas markets. The Company’s manufacturing plants located at Indrad, Baddi, Sikkim, Dahej, Pithampur and Vizag have facilities to produce Formulations and Bulk drugs. The plants are approved by authorities from various regulated and semi regulated markets like US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Australia and South Africa.
Mr. Samir Mehta, 52, is the Vice Chairman of the USD 2.75 billion Torrent Group and Chairman of Torrent Pharma. Torrent Group is being ably guided by Mr. Mehta through his analytical and professional approach. Under his leadership, Torrent Pharma took various strategic initiatives including forays into new therapies and geographies, creating resources to match the exacting demands of markets, making Torrent one of India’s fastest growing pharma majors. It has established a strong presence in the cardio vascular, neuropsychiatry, diabetology, gastroenterology segments and has also ventured into new segments like pain management, dermatology, gynecology, oncology and nephrology. Through acquisitions, Torrent has strengthened its position in the nutraceuticals, women healthcare and dermatology segments.
Mr. Mehta can be rightfully credited for establishing Torrent Pharma’s strong pan-global presence, especially through its subsidiaries in the US, Germany and Brazil. It is his strong belief, that the future of Indian pharma lies in its research capabilities, and this led Torrent to invest in bolstering its R&D infrastructure. Today, Torrent Pharma has state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facilities which are certified by the regulatory bodies of various international regulated and semi-regulated markets.