As Pfizer produces fewer new blockbuster drugs, it is trying to build up its generic drugs business. It set up the established products business unit in 2008 specifically to focus on the business. India’s Strides Arcolab Ltd. (532531.BY) has entered an agreement with Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to supply the U.S. company with non-patent injectable and oral drugs, it was announced late Wednesday.
The first of the products under this collaboration is expected to be launched this year, the companies said in a statement. The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, is for 40 off-patent products, many of which are for treating cancer. This collaboration marks Pfizer’s latest tie-up with an Indian drug maker for generic drugs.
The generic drugs will be produced by two joint ventures between Strides Arcolab and South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. (APN.JO). The two ventures are called Onco Laboratories Ltd. and Onco Therapies Ltd. Pfizer currently has a licensing pact with Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (524804.BY) to sell generic drugs in 70 emerging countries and developed markets such as the U.S. and Europe. The deal includes drugs for infections, heart disease and brain disorders. It also has an agreement with India’s Claris Lifesciences Ltd. to market 15 old injectable drugs.
This Strides collaboration is new and exciting, and we are encouraged about the potential of this relationship,” David Simmons, president and general manager of Pfizer’s established products business unit, said in the statement. Simmons, in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires in November, said Pfizer doesn’t want to manage a complex web of partnerships, and would instead like to have a “few, very strong partnerships” in India.
“Partnering with Pfizer enhances our ability to reach a larger base of customers and patients in need of quality treatment options,” Strides Arcolab Managing Director Arun Kumar said in the same statement. Simmons said this agreement would bring the total number of products licensed by Pfizer’s established products business unit to more than 200. Strides Arcolab also has a licensing and drug supply agreement with GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) through one of its joint ventures with Aspen Pharmacare.
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