Pfizer and Strides collaborate on generics; Luitpold acquires PharmaForce

On 6th January 2010, Pfizer and Strides Arcolab announced a new collaboration, through which Pfizer will commercialise off-patent sterile injectable and oral products in the US, supplied by Strides and two of Strides' joint ventures with South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare: Onco Laboratories and Onco Therapeutics. The collaboration is expected to deliver 40 off-patent products, many of which will be oncology therapeutics, and will bring the total number of products in-licensed by Pfizer's Established Products Business Unit to more than 200.

Pfizer's Established Products Business Unit was created in 2008, and marks something of a departure in Pfizer's thinking about generics, bringing its own generic operations more out of the shadows. Pfizer has previously been known to take an opposing line to generics, although its acquisition of Pharmacia had given the firm Greenstone, a generics subsidiary which Pfizer re-launched in 2004 to manufacture and market Pfizer brands that had lost patent protection. However, the firm seldom talked about Greenstone, even after the re-launch. The Established Products Business Unit similarly had a muted debut, but its efforts to strike deals with generic companies are a new departure for Pfizer. Interestingly, the unit has focused on dealing with Indian generic companies: before Strides Arcolab, the unit signed deals with Aurobindo Pharma and Claris Lifesciences.

Also on 6th January, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of PharmaForce was announced. Luitpold, these days based in New York and a US company of Daiichi Sankyo, is also the owner of American Regent. Luitpold was founded in 1910 in Bavaria, Germany, but established itself in the United States in 1978. It was sold to what was to become Daiichi Sankyo in 1991. Of course, one of Daiichi Sankyo's more recent acquisitions was that of Ranbaxy in 2008, making the Indian giant a stable-mate of Luitpold. Luitpold develops both branded and generic products, with its most recent generic approval being for caffeine citrate in November 2009. The company also provides contract manufacturing services to other pharmaceutical firms.

PharmaForce was founded in 1999, and is a manufacturer, developer and marketer of sterile products and generic injectable products. The firm is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and should prove to be a good fit for Luitpold, which noted that the acquisition would further diversify its product portfolio and generate additional growth. The acquisition will also give Luitpold three large facilities.

Ian Platts – Editor, World Generic Markets