Aurobindo acquires 7 oncology drugs from spectrum for $300 million

Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma on Thursday said it has acquired seven marketed oncology injectable products from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $300 million, which includes an upfront cash payment of up to $160 million and up to $140 million in milestones.

The $2.6 billion Hyderabad-headquartered company said the acquisition was done through its US subsidiary, Acrotech Biopharma, and that it will also be acquiring an experienced branded commercial infrastructure in the US market to continue commercialising these brands.

Nasdaq-listed Spectrum Pharmaceuticals has carved out its commercial business inclusive of seven marketed oncology injectable products, intellectual property and commercial infrastructure. This, Aurobindo said, is a part of Spectrum’s strategic shift to focus on novel oncology drug development and commercialisation of its two late-stage pipeline products.


The acquisition, which is in line with Aurobindo’s strategy to commercialise innovative proprietary medications, is expected to help the group enter the branded oncology market with a range of products that are well recognised by the oncology community.

Aurobindo said the acquired oncology injectable portfolio is expected to generate about $105 million in revenue for the first 12 months after completion of the acquisition and the transaction will be EPS accretive from the first full year of ownership. In the last calendar year, these products reported net sales of over $116 million.

N Govindarajan, Aurobindo Pharma’s managing director, said the acquisition creates “an ideal launch pad for Acrotech, and establishes our presence in the branded market, which is in line with our strategy to grow and diversify our business in the US”.

Ashish Anvekar, president of Acrotech, said, “We are excited to jump-start our mission of helping cancer patients across the globe by delivering clinically differentiated medications and leveraging strategic partnerships.”

Leerink Partners LLC acted as financial advisor and Reed Smith LLP acted as legal counsel to Aurobindo for the transaction, which was being structured as an asset purchase agreement.