Eris Lifesciences drops 3% after acquiring India formulation business of Biocon arm

Shares of Eris Lifesciences Ltd slumped nearly 3% to hit intraday low of ₹837.05 apiece on the NSE on Friday, a day after the company announced the acquisition of Indian-branded formulations business of Biocon subsidiary for ₹1,242 crore.

With this, Eris Lifesciences Ltd, one of the leading branded formulations companies, has forayed into the ₹30,000-crore injectables market in India, positioning itself as a key player in the insulin segment.

"The acquisition brings two major insulin brands – Basalog and Insugen – into the Eris fold. These are the largest Indian brands in their respective segments, with market shares of over 10%," Eris Lifesciences Ltd said in an exchange filing.

Eris' Diabetes Care franchise is expected to soon reach a ₹1,000 crore revenue target on the back of this acquisition. Eris' Diabetes Care franchise will be the fifth largest diabetes portfolio in the country, as per the filing.

This deal with Biocon Biologics Ltd, the subsidiary of Biocon Ltd, will ensure Eris Lifesciences’ foray into the oncology and critical care segments as well.

The pharma giant has inked a 10-year supply agreement, under which, Biocon's product range will continue to be produced and supplied to it for commercialisation purposes in India.

This purchase deal also enables immediate synergies with the recently acquired Swiss Parenterals business, Eris Lifesciences informed the bourses.

It said that the Biocon product range can be quickly scaled up by leveraging the product portfolio of Swiss, which consists of 240+ unique molecules.

The combination of the two deals will also open margin expansion opportunities through insourcing/technology transfer of manufacturing to Swiss' facilities, the company added.

Commenting on the acquisition, Eris Lifesciences Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Amit Bakshi said, "We consider it an honour and privilege to enter into this long-term collaboration with Biocon which is an organisation known for its remarkable pedigree and its pioneering efforts in the Biosimilars space in terms of innovation, product quality and interchangeability."

Shares of Eris Lifesciences closed 1.8% lower at ₹847.05 apiece.