Douglas Pharma sells Australian subsidiary to Genepharm for $83.6 million

Douglas Pharmaceuticals, a New Zealand-based generic drug maker, is selling its Australian subsidiary for NZ$83.6 million ($52.8 million) to Sydney-based Genepharm Australasia. Proceeds from the sale of the company, which accounted for 30% of Douglas' operation, will be put back into the main business, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald. The deal gives Genepharm exclusive Australian rights to Douglas' portfolio, including both the drugs it makes itself and those it in-licenses, it was added.

The company's board and senior executives need to determine the future direction of the firm, Douglas' owner Graeme Douglas told the local newspaper, the Dominion Post, adding that some of the sales proceeds would be used to develop new drugs, although he would not say what proportion this would be.

The reports noted that the company, which had sales of NZ$140.0 million in 2005, was looking at the development and formulation of generic molecules.