JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the Mumbai-based drugmaker majority-owned by private equity firm KKR, has acquired a portfolio of ophthalmology brands from Swiss giant Novartis to enter the growing eyecare market.
The company said its board has approved signing a Trademark License Agreement to acquire the brands for Rs 964 crore ($116 million), effective January 2027. In the interim, it has entered into a three-year promotion and distribution agreement, beginning December 2023, with Novartis for the brands by making an additional payment of Rs 125 crore.
During the three-year in-licensing agreement period, Novartis will maintain drug manufacturing, while JB Chemicals will focus on the marketing and sales aspects.
The portfolio includes anti-infective, anti-allergy, and glaucoma drugs. Eight out of 10 of these drugs have shown a 10-20% three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR), JB Chemicals said, citing pharmaceutical research firm IQVIA's data. The cumulative sales for these brands stood at Rs 207.8 crore.
The company said the deal would propel it to the fourth position in the ophthalmology therapy sector, which commands a market size of approximately Rs 4,300 crore.
JB Chemicals supplies products in the cardiac, gastrointestinal and anti-infective therapeutic areas across the branded formulations market. Besides India, JB Chemicals has also a presence in Russia and South Africa. It also exports its finished formulations to over 30 countries including the US. The company's portfolio includes four flagship brands in India—Cilacar, Metrogyl, Nicardia and Rantac.
KKR had acquired a majority stake in JB Chemicals in 2020. It currently owns a tad less than 54% stake in the drugmaker.
Over the past couple of years, JB Chemicals has expanded its portfolio through several acquisitions. These include the purchase of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd's cardiac brand Razel for Rs 313.7 crore last year, Hyderabad-based Sanzyme's probiotic portfolio for Rs 628 crore, and the acquisition of pediatric brands from Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
