Actavis acquires API unit of India's Sanmar

Reykjavik, Iceland-based generic drugmaker Actavis has acquired the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient division of Sanmar Specialty Chemicals, a unit of the Sanmar Group based in Chennai, southern India, for an undisclosed price. According to Actavis, Sanmar's API division provides it with a wholly-owned US-approved facility and the ability to develop and manufacture its own APIs, the single largest cost component in the group's manufacturing. It noted that the new division will also complement its existing manufacturing capabilities in Chennai, acquired from Grandix in December 2006. As part of the deal, Actavis has also entered into a service agreement with Sanmar to provide Actavis with API R&D services at its research facilities. This is in addition to the wholly-owned API development center set up by Actavis in Bangalore, India, which is already in operation.