IHS Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Pfizer (U.S.) has entered into a licensing deal with joint venture (JV) Akorn-Strides (U.S./India) for US$63 million, gaining access to 22 Abbreviated New Drug Applications in return. Strides Arcolab will also be manufacturing the indicated products for Pfizer. |
Implications | The deal adds to Pfizer's generic deals with other Indian firms, particularly Strides. |
Outlook | The deal will see the Akorn-Strides partnership left with only a limited number of products to market in the United States, with the firms hinting at a possible end of their alliance. The JV will reportedly market their remaining products until 30 April this year. For Pfizer itself, the deal continues the strategy of expanding its presence into the generics segment, both in the United States and emerging markets. |
Indian generic firm Strides Arcolab and U.S. firm Akorn have separately announced that their 50:50 joint venture (JV) Akorn-Strides has agreed a deal with Pfizer (U.S.) which will see a total of 22 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) sold to the latter. This consists of 16 approved ANDAs and 6 still pending. In return, Akorn and Strides will be entitled to US$35 million and US$28.2 million in cash respectively. The latter has also separately entered into an agreement with the U.S. drug giant to manufacture and supply the indicated products. Further details on the molecules in question are not known.
Meanwhile, both Strides and Akorn indicted a possible end to their partnership, with the firms continuing to manufacture and market their limited approved product portfolio (post the Pfizer sale) until 30 April this year.
The Akorn-Strides JV was first announced in 2004 for the production and distribution of sterile injectable products in the U.S. pharma market.
Outlook and Implications
The development is an indication of the increasingly important role that generics marketing is taking in Pfizer's strategy,. The aforementioned deal is by no means a first for Pfizer, which has similar deals with Aurobindo Pharma (India) and with biotech firm Biocon (India) for biosimilars. Strides itself has several such generic supply deals with Pfizer, which were all inked in 2010 and cover markets such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, apart from the United States (see United States - India:17 May 2010: Pfizer in Supply Contract with India's Strides Arcolaband United States - India: 7 January 2010: Pfizer Signs Another Generic Commercialisation Pact, This Time with Strides Arcolab). Given these existing deals, with one of them even involving the production of injectables for the U.S. market, it comes as no surprise that Pfizer has once again chosen Strides as a licensing and manufacturing partner.
In terms of the Akorn-Strides alliance, the winding up of the JV will bring to an end a six-year relationship that has seen both firms gain a stronger foothold in the United States. In 2009, Strides ended another U.S. partnership with local firm KV Pharma (see India - United States: 16 March 2009: Strides Arcolab and KV Pharma End North American and EU Supply Pact). This means that apart from the Pfizer deals, Strides still has one other supply deal for the U.S. market, also for injectables, with U.S. firm Sagent Pharma.