Mylan announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the generic injectables unit Agila Specialties from Strides Arcolab for $1.6 billion in cash.  The acquisition will significantly expand and strengthen Mylan’s global injectables platform and provide entry into new, high-growth geographic markets, according to a company press release. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions.

Agila is based in Bangalore, India, and currently holds a portfolio of more than 300 products marketed in 70 countries, including 61 products approved by FDA.  In addition, Agila’s pipeline contains 350 filings pending approval, including 122 filed in the US. The company currently produces products across nine manufacturing facilities in India, Brazil, and Poland, eight of which have been approved by FDA. Its manufacturing capabilities include vials, prefilled syringes, ampuls, lyophilization, cytotoxics, and antibiotics. Agila’s portfolio complements Mylan’s existing injectables business, which consists of more than 500 products marketed globally.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch says in the release, "The addition of Agila to our existing injectables platform will immediately create a new, powerful global leader in this fast-growing, attractive market segment and accelerate our target of becoming a top-three global player in injectables. Further, the acquisition of this unique asset delivers on several of Mylan's strategic growth drivers by further expanding and diversifying our product portfolio and geographic reach, strengthening our presence in the institutional channel, and positioning us to maximize our generic biologics portfolio. Agila's broad product portfolio and pipeline, which is very complementary to Mylan's, is the result of best-in-class research and development and an industry-leading track record of securing product approvals. Importantly, Agila will bring us one of the most state-of-the-art, high quality injectables manufacturing platforms in the industry. Our significantly expanded manufacturing capacity will allow us to vertically integrate our injectables platform and fast-track our ability to pursue additional product opportunities and partnerships to facilitate long-term growth. We are excited to welcome the Agila employees to our growing global team and anticipate a seamless and rapid integration of the Agila business."