Wyeth sells Ghatkopar unit to Arian Orgachem

Wyeth Ltd, the US based drug major, has sold its bulk drug manufacturing facility at Ghatkopar in Mumbai to Ariane Orgachem Pvt Ltd, a Runwal group company. The deal is valued at Rs 40 crore, sources close to the development said.

The acquisition will give Ariane Orgachem capacities and ready-made plants for the manufacture of bulk drugs like paroxetine, torsemide, glicazide. The promoters also propose to increase the capacity at the Ghatkopar unit by de-bottlenecking and adding necessary equipment.

Confirming the development, Sandeep Runwal, director of Ariane Orgachem, said, "The move is a part of our expansion strategy. This acquisition will enable us acquire a strong foothold in the highly specialized product group of cortico steroids and hormones. In fact, prior to the sale, Wyeth almost had a monopoly over this product range in India and will now source its requirement from us. We plan to invest Rs 7-8 crore further to upgrade this facility to comply with international norms."

A senior executives at Wyeth, when contacted, declined to comment on the issue. The Rs 300 crore company, which is into antibiotics, oral contraceptives and vaccines, has its other manufacturing facilities at Valsad in Gujarat, Verna at Goa and after its merger with Geoffrey Manners it also has a unit at Nashik in Maharashtra.

According to Runwal, the acquisition brings along with it a team of skilled professionals and workers to help run the businesses.

The entire staff and management associated with this business at Wyeth now stand transferred to Ariane Orgachem and it will retain the employees.

While Runwal refused to comment on the current turnover of the company, he said that it proposes to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 crore by 2006.