 "CCEA clears Mylan's $750-mn acquisition of Famy Care's contraceptive biz")
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved US pharma major Mylan's $750-million investment in its Indian subsidiary Mylan Laboratories to acquire the female healthcare business of Famy Care.
The deal, announced in February this year, will allow Mylan to tap into the female contraceptive and healthcare segment in India.
On Thursday, the CCEA granted approval to $750 million investment in Mylan Laboratories from group entities based in Luxembourg or the Netherlands. A part of these funds will be used for acquisition of Famy Care's female healthcare business.
The Cabinet approved the foreign direct investment subject to the condition that production level as well as supply of consumables and drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines was maintained over the next five years.
Mylan will also have to maintain research and development expense in value terms for the next five years, according to a government statement.
Mylan, among the top five generic companies globally, has been expanding its presence in India for a while. It entered India in 2007, with a $730-million buyout of Matrix Laboratories. In 2013, it acquired the specialty injectables unit of Bengaluru-based Strides Arcolab for $1.75 billion.
Mylan and Famy Care have an exclusive partnership dating back to 2008, under which Famy Care develops and supplies over-the-counter drugs to Mylan for distribution to customers in the US and a few other markets. In the US, Famy Care and Mylan have a portfolio of 12 approved products, with abbreviated new drug applications for 30 drugs pending the approval of the Food and Drug Administration.
Started in 1990 by Jyotiprasad Taparia, Famy Care is the third-largest maker of over-the-counter contraceptive pills and injectables and the largest producer of copper-Ts globally. Other major products from the company include rings for tubal ligation and condoms. Famy Care recorded a revenue of Rs 400 crore last year.
