Actavis buys Chennai plant from Grandix

Icelandic generic pharmaceuticals group Actavis says that it has completed the acquisition of a manufacturing plant from India's Grandix Pharmaceuticals. Actavis explained that the facility, which is located in the city of Chennai, would be used to develop and produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and medications for the country's drug market.

Actavis added that its purchase, which is for an undisclosed amount, would provide it with a low cost manufacturing plant from which it can develop drugs for the local, US and European markets. The firm went on to say that it would also increase the site's capacity to approximately four billion tablets per year over the next 18 months, in addition to strengthening the on-site development and regulatory affairs units.

In February 2005, Actavis bought Bangalore-based Contract Research Organization, Lotus Laboratories for 20.0 million euros ($26.3 million). The Icelandic company added that the combination of the new plant's low production costs coupled with Lotus' capacity to undertake over 160 bio-equivalence studies a year, would allow it to lower its R&D expenditure. The company said that it will aim to develop between 10 and 15 products a year at the facility, which, with its current staff of 50 employees, has already begun the development of the first 10 API compounds.