Novartis sells portions of Sandoz US portfolio to Aurobindo
Novartis has revealed plans to sell the dermatology business and generic US oral solids portfolios of its subsidiary Sandoz US to India-based Aurobindo for $900 million.
The deal, which was announced today, comes as Novartis looks to focus on complex generics, value-added medicines and biosimilars for long-term growth.
As part of the transaction, Aurobindo will acquire approximately 300 products, additional development products, Sandoz’s US generic and branded dermatology businesses, and a dermatology development centre.
Net sales of the acquired business were around $1.2 billion for 2017, according to a submission from Aurobindo to the National Stock Exchange of India.
Richard Francis, CEO of Sandoz and member of the Novartis executive committee, said: “Through this transaction, we are refocusing our business but also striving to ensure continuity of supply of important long-used generic medicines for patients and customers in the US.”
Manufacturing facilities in Wilson, North Carolina, as well as Hicksville and Melville, New York, will be transferred to Aurobindo, along with 750 employees and field representatives for the PharmaDerm-branded dermatology business.
Following the transaction, the Sandoz US portfolio will “continue to be substantial”, said the press release. It will include biosimilars, value-added medicines and complex generics.
Narayanan Govindarajan, managing director of Aurobindo, said: “Overall the transaction will position Aurobindo as the second largest dermatology player and the second largest generics company in the US by prescriptions.”
The transaction is expected to close in 2019.
It’s been a busy year for Novartis—in July, it announced the creation of a platform called Nerve Live that will tap into its “huge data pool” in order to aid drug development.
Work on the platform started in 2015, and Novartis has now created five “user modules” for applying data analytics. One of these covers clinical trials, with data allowing Novartis to select the best sites and enhance other elements of the process.
Two months before, in May, Novartis completed its acquisition of clinical-stage gene therapy company AveXis (after announcing the plan to buy it for $8.7 billion in April 2017).
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