Sun Pharma sets out strategy for overseas plants
for its new facility in Hungary, purchased in August and intended
as a springboard to launch the company's ambitions in Europe and
around the world, and its recently-acquired facility in the US.
The company says it is planning a slew of filings for international markets, including the US and Europe, both for bulk actives and formulations from the new facilities, acquired from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
The Hungarian plant "is one of the few units worldwide authorised to make controlled substances," said Sun Pharma in a statement. The 170 acre site has facilities spread over 1,75,000 square feet for the manufacture of bulk actives, with 500 KL capacity and designated areas to make controlled substances. It also has a 150,000 square foot facility for dosage forms such as film coated and effervescent tablets and capsules, and a 65,000 square foot research centre with labs for synthetic chemistry, instrumentation analytical and structural elucidation.
Annual sales from this 170-acre site have been running at about $20 million. It employs 450 people and additional recruitments are planned over time, according to Sun Pharma.
Meanwhile, the Indian firm also said it would be making the most of synergies between the Hungarian plant and its facility in Bryan, Ohio, purchased from Valeant last month, to address the market for generic creams, ointments and liquid-formulated pharmaceuticals.
The latter facility covers 30,000 square feet and employs 35 people. Sun Pharma said it would reorganise the supply the bulk ingredients for some of the products, transfer some manufacturing to India and carry out marketing through its US company Caraco, in which it holds a 69 per cent share.
While terms have not been disclosed for the individual transactions, both acquisitions cost within $10 million, according to Sun Pharma. Capacity upgrades and expansion plans will be undertaken at both plants in due course.
Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma's chairman and managing director, said: "These acquisitions address specific opportunities in the European and US generic market and facilitate our entry into the controlled substance space across various dosage forms. These manufacturing bases take us one step closer to becoming an international company."
