Ranbaxy scouts for US takeover

Ranbaxy Laboratories is looking at acquiring a pharmaceutical brand in the US. "It could either be a brand or a company owning the brand," Ranbaxy Joint Managing Director and CEO-designate Brian Tempest said after concluding the takeover of Aventis' generic arm in France.

In his first interaction with the media after becoming CEO-designate, Tempest said the brand acquisition could be in the therapeutic areas of antibiotics or urology, Ranbaxy's traditional strengths.

However, he refused to specify a deadline for the acquisition. "It is very difficult to say when we can conclude it. There are a lot of hurdles in the way," Tempest said when asked whether the acquisition would be completed this year.

Talking about the size of the targeted acquisition, Tempest said it would be "niche and small" and would fit in well with the strengths of Ranbaxy. The identification of the target would be led by Deepak Chattaraj, who heads Ranbaxy's US business.

Ranbaxy has a significant presence in the US generics market and has also launched a few pseudo brands.

However, the company has said in its Garuda Vision statement that it should get at least 40 per cent of its targeted $5 billion turnover in 2013 through proprietary branded products.

Meanwhile, Ranbaxy has completed its acquisition of RPG Aventis. "As of now, we are booking sales in the name of Ranbaxy. We are the fifth largest generics player in France," Tempest said, though he refused to disclose the cost of the acquisition.

According to Tempest, RPG Aventis has an annual turnover of 62 million euros and a marketshare of 6.6 per cent.