Actavis Expands Manufacturing Operations in India

Hafnarfjordur, Iceland (Dec. 21)-The generic drug manufacturer Actavis Group (www.actavis.com) is expanding its manufacturing capabilities in India and plans to close a facility in Norway.

Actavis acquired a solid-dosage manufacturing plant from Grandix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Chennai, India, www.grandixpharma.com), a pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing company. Actavis says the facility gives it low-cost manufacturing capability in India, where it plans to develop and manufacture products for the US and European markets, including developing and relaunching older products that need a lower cost base to compete in international markets.

Actavis plans to increase the manufacturing capacity of the Indian facility to roughly 4 billion tablets over the next 18 months and strengthen the development and regulatory affairs units.

“The new facility will enable Actavis to further reduce its manufacturing costs and provide the support and expertise needed to extend our growth into key European markets and the US,” said Actavis CEO and President Robert Wessman in a company release. “I believe this is an important step for Actavis that we now have a backward integration with a growing API development unit, in addition to one of the strongest CRO companies in India.”

The acquisition of the facility from Grandix is Actavis’s latest move in India. In 2005, it acquired Lotus Laboratories (Bangalore, India), a contract research organization specializing in clinical and bioavailability studies of pharmaceuticals. In 2006, Actavis also formed manufacturing agreements with the Indian pharmaceutical companies Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited (Pune, India, www.emcure.co.in), Shasun (Chennai, India, www.shasun.com), and Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Chennai, India).

Actavis divests Norwegian manufacturing site

As it expands in India, Actavis is consolidating its European operations. It announced that it divested its manufacturing facility in Lier, Norway. The plant manufactures tablets, liquids, creams, and ointments, primarily for the Nordic, European, and Middle Eastern markets.

Actavis acquired the Lier facility as part of its 2005 acquisition of the human generics business of Alpharma, Inc. (Fort Lee. NJ, www.alpharma.com). 

Actavis is selling the Lier plant to Storebrand (www.storebrand.com), a Norwegian life insurance and financial services company, which is leasing the facility to the contract manufacturer Inpac AB (Lund, Sweden). Actavis is receiving roughly €10 million ($13 million) for the plant, and Inpac subsequently signed a five-year supply agreement with Actavis. 

Actavis’s Norgesplaster production facility in Vennesia, Norway is not affected by the sale of the facility.