Glenmark buys seven drug brands in Poland; New portfolio to boost earnings

The acquisition will firm up the firm's presence in Europe, especially in Poland, the largest pharmaceutical market in Central and East Europe. It will also boost the firm's revenue by $15 million for the present fiscal year, Glenmark said in a regulatory filing.

The brands include anti-depressant drug Cital and epilepsy drug Lamotrix, which together make up about 50 percent of the total sales of Glenmark's newly acquired portfolio.

"This portfolio acquisition will accelerate our growth in a very promising Central & East European market." Glenn Saldanha, managing director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement.

"The Polish market has good potential for branded generic products and Glenmark will now have the necessary front-end and the product range to access and develop in this exciting market," he said.

According to Guy Clark, president, Glenmark Europe, the acquisition marks "a major development for Glenmark in the European region."

"The acquisition of this product portfolio fits well with Glenmark's overall strategy for increasing revenue and accelerating growth in a key strategic market like Poland," Clark said.

The pharmaceutical market in Poland in 2007 was worth $7 billion in 2007, growing about 8 percent over the previous year, Glenmark said.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

In recent times, Glenmark has been focusing on expanding its global presence. While last year, the firm acquired Czech Republic-based drugmaker Medicamenta, in June the firm received the nod from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the sale of its generic version of anti-hypertension drug, Trandolapril in the US market.