Pfizer expands generics agreements with Indian companies

On 20th May 2009, Pfizer announced that it had entered into licensing agreements with two Indian pharmaceutical companies, Aurobindo Pharma and Claris Lifesciences, which would strengthen Pfizer’s position in emerging markets and expand its portfolio of medicines in its Established Products Business Unit. The agreement with Aurobindo expands a series of earlier agreements between the two, announced on 3rd March 2009, in which the two firms would work to commercialise medicines that are no longer protected by patents and have lost market exclusivity in the US and Europe. Pfizer’s Established Products Business Unit was launched in 2008 as part of the firm’s initiative to create smaller, more accountable business units aligned with customer needs.

Pfizer commented that its expanded agreements with Aurobindo would grow its product portfolio within emerging markets to reflect the market dynamics and commercial interests of over 70 countries. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer has acquired the rights to 55 solid oral dosage products and five sterile injectable products for patients in over 70 emerging market countries. The products include antibiotics and anti-infectives, and cover a broad range of therapeutic categories, such as cardiovascular and central nervous system disorders. Pfizer will commercialise the 60 products in phases, tailoring its approach for different regions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In the agreements announced in March 2009, Pfizer acquired the rights to 39 generic solid oral dose products in the US and 20 in Europe, along with an additional 11 in France. The products were to be commercialised in the US through Pfizer’s Greenstone subsidiary. Pfizer also acquired the rights to 12 sterile injectable products in the US and Europe. These agreements in turn were an expansion of an existing five-product US deal that Pfizer and Aurobindo entered into in July 2008.

With regard to Claris Lifesciences, Pfizer entered an agreement to commercialise sterile injectable medicines after the products have lost patent protection and have lost market exclusivity in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer acquired the rights to 15 injectable products covering a wide range of therapeutic areas including anti-infectives and pain management. As with the Aurobindo agreements, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pfizer commented that to date, 128 non-Pfizer products, consisting of 98 solid oral dose and 30 sterile injectables, had been added to its portfolio of established brands. Pfizer added that its global annual sales of established products are worth around US$10 billion.

Background information on Aurobindo Pharma and Claris Lifesciences can be found in The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry 2009: Diversification, Expansion & Ambitions, published by Espicom in May 2009. In addition, Espicom has recently updated The Pharmaceutical Market: India, which provides a detailed review of the Indian pharmaceutical market.