Singapore, July 2010: Large multinational pharmaceutical companies continue to be active in seeking acquisitions in emerging Asian markets such as India and China. With over $70 billion drugs coming off patent by 2012, pharmaceutical majors are looking to these regions for new revenue streams. India is an attractive destination for players looking to grow generics franchises.

There is a growing interest in the vaccines segment, where both India and China continue to attract large deals. Recent tie-ups include Sanofi Pasteur’s 80 percent stake in India’s Shantha Biotechnics for $781 million and Novartis’ 85 percent stake in China-based Zheijang Tianyuan Bio Pharma for $125 million, according to Ms Riddhima Saxena, reporter at mergermarket.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government, which controls many pharmaceutical companies, is pushing domestic consolidation. In India too, consolidation is expected to continue as large family controlled companies are China, India look for domestic consolidation seeking the benefits of selling out to strategic investors. Of note is the recent muli-billion dollar acquisition of Piramal Life Sciences’ diagnostics business by US-based Abbot Laboratories.

“There has also been an increase in clinical research outsourcing services to China and India followed by countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. China, which is home to several large contract research organizations (CROs), has attracted interest from the US companies. Charles River Laboratories recently bid $1.2 billion for China-based Wuxi Pharmatech. Meanwhile, Indian CROs could take more time to attract overseas interest on account of smaller scales. The Japanese market is also slowly opening up for consolidation. Domestic companies are engaging in deals with European and the US-based companies for opportunities in medical devices and pharmaceuticals and generics,” concludes Ms Saxena.

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