Alkem Laboratories acquires AbbVie and other related assets

Alkem Laboratories will acquire AbbVie's assets related to the active drug ingredient Dronabinol for $10 million in cash, or about Rs. 710 million at current exchange rates.In a submission to the stock exchange, Mumbai-based Alkem Laboratories said the acquisition would help the company commercialize Dronabinol-related assets. The assets relating to Dronabinol include pharmaceutical-related trademarks, patents, inventory and technical and manufacturing instructions. The acquisition will benefit Alkem Laboratories in selling branded and generic drugs in the United States.Alkem Laboratories has 21 production facilities in India, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom for the manufacture and sale of generic, pharmaceutical and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The pharmaceutical company was founded in 1973 and listed on the Indian Stock Exchange in 2015. Alkem Laboratories has been one of India's top 10 pharmaceutical companies for the past 12 years.Alkem Laboratories has world-class research, development and manufacturing capabilities for active pharmaceutical ingredients, in accordance with regulatory process technology definitions. The acquisition of AbbVie's active drug production line is the latest example of an Indian company buying an active drug product. Alkem Laboratories further enhances the global competitiveness of its active drugs by increasing the company's products and refining its product line, combining the development and manufacture of active drug formulations, and contracting them to research and develop manufacturing capabilities and services that are in line with international cGMP.Other Indian pharmaceutical companies also have plans to expand their market share by acquiring active drug lines. In April 2019, for example, Ipca Laboratories, an integrated pharmaceutical company backed by investment firm Chrys Capital, said it would acquire biopharmaceutical company Ramdev Chemical. Eventually, Ipca Laboratories was acquired for 108.5 million rupees ($15.5 million) to develop its active drug production line. Similarly, SMS Lifesciences announced the acquisition of active drug maker Mahi Drugs in February 2018.About AbbVieAbbVie is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative and advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. AbbVie, originally a subsidiary of Abbott, spun off from Abbott in 2003. Allergan, the maker of Botox, was acquired earlier in 2019 for about $64 billion. The company's focus areas include immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and general medicine. By 2013, AbbVie employed approximately 21,000 people worldwide and sold medicines in more than 170 countries. (Arterial mesh)