Glenmark buys 90% of Czech Medicamenta

Mumbai, India-headquartered Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, through its wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary, has concluded an agreement to acquire a majority shareholding (over 90%) of the Czech drugmaker Medicamenta, giving the Indian group its first commercial foothold in the strategically-important European market. Under Czech law, a holding of more than 90% in a company will trigger a mandatory takeover bid for the remaining shares, Glenmark noted. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Medicamenta has sales and marketing operations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and both countries' pharmaceutical sectors are dominated by branded generics. Glenmark says it expects Medicamenta to provide a base for its branded business in Europe, and it will so look to develop and expand the Czech firm's current portfolio. Its leading product, Ataralgin (a combination of guaiphenesine and caffeine), is a household brand in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Medicamenta's projected revenues for the current year are $8.0 million. The firm has 60 employees and brings with it a basket of 29 solid dose and semi-solid products, which are manufactured at its Czech regulatory agency-approved plant in Vysoke Myto. Glenmark plans to make use of this facility to support its broader operations, by providing additional manufacturing, packaging, quality release and warehousing for its European business, which it aims to expand.