Dr Reddy's buys Italian generics firm

Hyderabad-based pharma company Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) has acquired Jet Generici Srl, a company engaged in the sale of generic finished dosages in Italy. Financial terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal has been completed through Dr Reddy's Italian subsidiary, Reddy Pharma Italia, which has been engaged in building a pipeline of registrations since its incorporation.

The acquisition provides access to an essential product portfolio, a pipeline of registration applications and a sales and marketing organisation.  According to a DRL spokesperson, the Italian company posted a turnover of Euro1.5 million in 2007.

This is DRL's second major acquisition in the past few days. On Tuesday, the company announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Dowpharma's small molecules business in Mirfield and Cambridge in the UK.

"The acquisition has been well timed since Dr Reddy's will be able to immediately supplement the Jet Generici portfolio via its own pipeline. We already have registration for one significant Dr Reddy's product, and a strong pipeline of registration applications. We believe that this strategic investment will generate substantial opportunities for long-term value creation in one of the fastest growing generic markets across the world," told V S Vasudevan, DRL's president and head, Europe operations, in a press release.

DRL's shares were up by Rs 16.55 to close at Rs 619.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.