Sells its 49 per cent stake for Rs 101 crore.
Aventis Pharma, the Indian arm of French multinational drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, will sell its 49 per cent stake in vaccine manufacturing unit, Chiron Behring Vaccines, to its joint venture partner Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics for $ 22.4 million (Rs 101 crore).
The deal between the multinational drug firms would draw curtains to a two-year-old battle in India over rights to India's largest selling anti-rabies vaccine, Rabipur. It had sales of close to Rs 118 crore two years ago with a market share of about 70 per cent. The brand belongs to Chiron Behring Vaccines. Novartis had objected to the renewal of a 10-year marketing licence to Aventis Pharma last February.
Until February 2009, Aventis manufactured Rabipur at its plant in Ankleshwar in Gujarat, while Novartis Healthcare was the distributor of the vaccines in the country, said Aventis Pharma.
Aventis Pharma holds 4.9 million shares in Chiron Behring Vaccines and the rest is owned by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc, a unit of Swiss drug maker Novartis AG.
"Aventis will continue to provide certain utilities and services at the Ankleshwar plant for a period of three years on mutually agreed terms. All the pending disputes and legal proceedings between Aventis Pharma, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics will be withdrawn unconditionally," the release said.
After losing the rights of Rabipur, Aventis Pharma's arm, Shanta Biotech, launched group company Sanofi Pasteur's brand Verorab in the Indian market. This was challenged by Novartis in the Bombay High Court, citing conflict of interest. The court allowed the petition and Aventis is appealing the decision.
India's anti-rabies market is estimated to have an annual size of Rs 250 crore.