Drugmaker Cadila Healthcare, which operates under the brand Zydus Cadila, said on Monday its Zydus Healthcare subsidiary has acquired gastrointestinal brand Actibile from Kolkata-based drug firm Albert David for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition will be financed through internal accruals, Cadila Healthcare said in a filing to the stock exchanges.
Actibile is used for dissolving gall bladder stones.
Pankaj R Patel, chairman and managing director of Zydus group, said the gastrointestinal segment has been one of the company’s focus segments and that this acquisition will strengthen its portfolio of brands in this segment.
The gastrointestinal segment grew four to six percentage points faster than the overall Indian pharmaceutical market in February 2016, according to a report by Religare Institutional Research. The overall market reported revenue growth of 12 per cent year-on-year in February 2016 compared with 18.9 per cent in February 2015, it said.
Albert David, which makes and sells branded formulations in India and abroad, is the pharmaceutical venture of the Kolkata-based Kothari Group.
Zydus Cadila, headquartered in Ahmedabad, makes a range of drugs. It employs about 16,500 people and aims to become a research-based pharmaceutical company by 2020.
In January, Zydus Cadila had acquired some animal health brands and manufacturing operations at Haridwar in Uttarakhand from US animal health company Zoetis Inc.
Shares of Cadila Healthcare fell 0.44 per cent to Rs 318.90 apiece on the BSE in a weak broader market.