Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Piramal Health eyes acquisitions in US, Europe

Piramal Healthcare Ltd is looking for acquisitions in the US and Europe, a senior official said, adding that business should grow during the current fiscal year at about the same pace it did in 2008-09.
Piramal recently acquired US-based inhalation anaesthetics maker Minrad International Inc to boost its presence in the global critical care business and director Swati Piramal said they were looking for more.
“We expect to buy 2-3 companies in advanced markets like the US and Europe,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
Piramal Healthcare reports results for its fourth quarter ended March on Friday.
Piramal Healthcare and a related firm Piramal Life Sciences Ltd would together invest about Rs1 billion during the 12 months to March 2010, mostly on new drug development and research, she said.
The company is in the process of phase II trials of a cancer drug and expect to get approvals in the US, Australian and Indian market this year, Swati Piramal said, adding 14 new drugs were in the pipeline.
The firm plans to add 300-400 professionals in the super-speciality marketing division, she added, ruling out any plan to sell stake in Piramal Healthcare or Piramal Life Sciences Ltd.
Piramal Healthcare employs about 7,000 employees in total, she said.
Shares in Piramal Healthcare closed 0.1% higher at Rs211.05 in a Mumbai market that ended 0.74% down, while Piramal Life Sciences shares fell 1.9% to Rs48 rupees.

Source: Mint

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