India’s Cipla To Acquire Two US Generics Businesses For $550 Million

India’s fourth-biggest generics maker Cipla Ltd. has agreed to buy two U.S.-based generics companies for a total of $550 million. The acquisition is expected to help the company expand in the world’s largest pharmaceuticals market.

Cipla is entering into the all-cash deal through its U.K. arm, Cipla EU, to buy InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc., subject to regulatory approvals, the Mumbai-based pharmaceuticals company said in a press release Friday.

The two U.S. companies had a combined revenue of $225 million for the 12 months ended June 30, compared with over $200 million for the calendar year 2014, Cipla said, in its statement. Exelan sells the products made by InvaGen.

The acquisition, only the second in 80 year-old Cipla’s history, will add to its product portfolio and help the company expand in the U.S. generic drugs market.

Hauppauge, New York-based InvaGen brings its first U.S.-based research and development center and three manufacturing units located in Long Island, New York. They have a total production capacity of 12 billion pills and capsules a year, and employ about 500 people.

Cipla will also get about 40 permits for existing U.S. generics -- called abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) -- 32 marketed products, and 30 more in the pipeline expected to be approved over the next four years.

Delaware based Exelan is a privately held sales and marketing company that sells products manufactured by InvaGen to government buyers, Cipla said in its release.