Teva, Ind-Swift to ink outsourcing pact

The global generic drug major Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is planning to sign up a product outsourcing contract with the New Delhi-based Ind-Swift Lab.

The two companies are in advanced stage of talks and the outsourcing agreement would be finalised in a week, sources said. In terms of supply volumes, the pact would be the largest yet signed by any domestic pharma companies with multinationals.

The product outsourcing pact involves contract manufacturing of fexofenadine - a final stage intermediate - for Teva's topselling anti-histamine generic formulations. By signing up with Ind-Swift, Teva would be sourcing this intermediate for its entire global market requirement from India.

The annual supply volume of fexofenadine by Ind-Swift is estimated to be 30 tonne. The sources said Ind-Swift would dedicate its existing fexofenadine facility at Derabassi, which has an annual production capacity of 30 tonne, for Teva.

According to the outsourcing agreement, this unit, set up last year with an investment of Rs 22 crore, will have to run at 100 per cent capacity. However, Teva spokesperson refused to comment. The new pact is going to be one of the biggest ever undertaken by the company.

With the recent patent expiry of Claritin - a drug that helped Schering-Plough net $5 billion in sales in 2001-02 - the antihistamine market is now dominated by multinational generic players such as Teva, Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth.

The Israel-based Teva specialises in development, production and marketing of generic and proprietary branded pharmaceuticals as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The company, which is one among the top 20 players globally, has recently set up a corporate office in Faridabad, Haryana. Teva has already operating one of its global research and development centres in Faridabad and the centre will be moved to Noida near New Delhi in December.

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SWEET PILL

The two companies are in advanced stage of talks for signing a product outsourcing contract

In terms of supply volumes, the pact would be the largest yet signed by any domestic pharma companies with multinationals

By signing up with Ind-Swift, Teva would be sourcing this intermediate for its entire global market requirement from India