Hyderabad's Aurobindo in race to buy Novartis' generic dermatology business

Places a non-binding initial bid of $1.6 bn for the US assets; analysts feel Aurobindo's bid is aggressively placed for low-margin assets

After Ahmedabad's Torrent Pharmaceuticals dropped the idea to acquire Sanofi's European generic business last month, Hyderabad-headquartered Aurobindo Pharma is in the race to buy the dermatology generics drug business of Novartis AG for about $1.6 billion. 

If the deal goes through, this would be the biggest overseas acquisition by any Indian drug major since Lupin's acquisition of Gavis Pharma and Novel Laboratories for $880 million in 2015. 

Media reports suggested that Aurobindo had submitted an initial bid to buy Swiss drug major Novartis AG's generic dermatology assets, which includes dermatology brands, production facilities and other infrastructure (primarily in the US). Sale of