South Africa drug giant Adcock Ingram in pact for Indian ops sale

South Africa’s second biggest drug marker Adcock Ingram has confirmed it has found a buyer for its Indian marketing and sales operations but will retain the manufacturing and regulatory capacity of Cosme Farma. The MNC spent eight months trying to sell off the Indian company it had acquired in 2013 for R745 million (Rs 328 crore) in the hope of taking advantage of the growth in the Indian medicines market. But for the past two years, Adcock Ingram has made losses of more than R50 million annually amid a struggle to make inroads in the highly competitive Indian market. The company announced that it would dispose of its 100 per cent shareholding in Adcock Ingram Healthcare Private Limited, its marketing and selling operation in India, to private equity firm Samara Capital Partners for R336 million. “The Indian pharmaceutical marketing and selling business does not meet the company’s current investment criteria and as a result the company has decided to exit this business,” Adcock Ingram said in a statement.