June 27, 2020
The US$490 million investment from Carlyle will enable Piramal Pharma to plan its future strategy.
The Carlyle Group affirmed its commitment to the Indian healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
India’s ‘Pharma Vision 2020’ aims to develop capabilities to create a drug manufacturing powerhouse.
The Indian pharmaceutical sector is synonymous with the production of quality generic medicines.
CA Clover Intermediate II Investments, an associate of the Carlyle Group, on June 27 announced the purchase of a 20 per cent stake in Piramal Pharma Ltd for about US$490 million. Piramal Pharma is a leading pharmaceutical entity in India whose recent acquisition of the drug manufacturing capabilities of GW Laboratories marked its entry into the solid oral dosage domain in the USA.
Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enterprises Ltd remarked, “This is an affirmation of the strength of our ability to build new, attractive and scalable businesses with a significant runway for continued organic growth and opportunities for consolidation.’ Mr. Piramal observed that the investment will enable the planning of the next phase of the company’s strategy.
Greg Zeluck, Co-Head, Carlyle Asia Partners’ advisory team, affirmed the Carlyle Group’s commitment to investing in the Indian market. The Carlyle Group has invested extensively in the Indian healthcare sector with SeQuient Scientific, Metropolis Healthcare, and Medanta Medicity Hospital being recent additions to the entity’s investment portfolio.
The pharmaceutical sector in India is synonymous with the widespread production of quality and affordable generic medicines. With medical spending projected to increase by 9-10 per cent, India will be among the nations leading the way in terms of medical spending. The Governmental support to the pharmaceutical sector has manifested in terms of ‘Pharma Vision 2020’ which aims to endow India with the expertise to take on end-to-end manufacturing of medicine.
Recent initiatives such as the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and Drug Price Control Order have helped enhance the affordability of drugs within the country. The Government has also reduced the time-frame for approval of new facilities in the view of increasing investments in the sector. With continued support from the government and bilateral investments, the pharmaceutical sector in India can look to achieve exponential growth.