Pfizer-Allergan deal could open up opportunities for Indian drugmakers

Pfizer's  record $160-billion acquisition of Allergan opens up opportunities for Indian drug makers to bid for products which would be divested to secure regulatory approvals.

Though both companies have large portfolios of innovative products there is a product overlap in the biosimilar segment. This could attract Indian generic drug makers who are investing in developing their own biosimilar products.

However, the mega merger would not have an impact on  the domestic  Indian market as Allergan has a small presence in India in opthalmic segment, sources said.

“Indian companies will benefit from divestment of some products as required by the Federal Trade Commission,” said D G Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.

 

A Bloomberg report on October 29 said Allergan's portfolio of biosimilar copies of biologic drugs has "100 percent overlap" with the biosimilar medicines Pfizer acquired from Hospira in September. Divestment in these areas would be likely for regulatory approvals.

"The first biosimilar just won U.S. approval in March. Pfizer, for example, has biosimilar drugs to treat such things as arthritis and Crohn's disease and Allergan has four biosimilar drugs in development," the report added.

Amongst the Indian companies Dr Reddy's Laboratories has been developing biosimilars since 2005. In 2012 it tied up with Merck Serono to develop and commercialize biosimilars. Already Dr Reddy's has four products in the segment.

Cipla recently sold its 25 percent stake in Biomab Holding, a Chinese biosimilar development company and announced that all future development in the space will be carried out by its subsidiary Cipla Biotech.