Piramal denies takeover bid by Glaxo

MUMBAI: British pharma major GlaxoSmithKline is in early stages of discussions to acquire Indian generic drug maker Piramal Healthcare for around $1.5 billion, agencies reported quoting a Wall Street Journalreport on Saturday. The report, however, said that while the talks are at an early stage, ���they could still fall apart���.

Reacting to the news, Piramal Healthcare said: ���The news is totally unfounded. Piramal Healthcare is a globally integrated healthcare company. We are taking steps to position ourselves for growth and profitability. Piramal Healthcare continues to have a strong belief about the significant potential of our core businesses. Accordingly, we have invested in our sales force, built state-of-the-art facilities and continue to pursue acquisitions opportunistically.���

The WSJ report also said that other drug firms, including France���s Sanofi-Aventis SA, have shown interest in Piramal. As drug sales are slow in mature markets like the US and Europe, Glaxo and some of its rivals are looking to expand fast in emerging markets where sales in recent years have grown at a higher rate, the WSJ report added.

Piramal is India���s fourth largest drugmaker, producing generic prescription and OTC products in nine therapeutic areas. In addition, Piramal has custom manufacturing companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

The acquisition of Piramal would further GlaxoSmithKline���s strategy of expanding aggressively into emerging markets. The company spent $210 million to purchase Bristol-Myers Squibb���s Egyptian operations as well as BMS���s holdings in Pakistan. Recently, the company spent $667 million to UCB for drug rights in 50 countries.