Torrent To Sell 6 Cardiac, Diabetic Brands

Torrent Pharmaceuticals is selling six brands in cardiac and diabetic therapies as part of a portfolio restructuring following Unichem and Elder Pharma buyouts in recent past. Torrent has mandated investment bank MAPE to divest overlapping brands — Pregaba, Ranx, Tenepure, Tolol, Zulu, and Gemitrol — drawing early interest from Piramal Enterprises and private equity firms like Multiples Alternate Asset Management and ICICI Venture, among others. These brands together contribute close to Rs 200 crore in annual turnover. Private equity investors have been scooping up non-core portfolios of drugmakers with True North buying orthopedic and pain management brands from Glenmark, while Samara Capital snapped up anti-infective brands from Novartis.

Torrent is ranked sixth in the domestic retail market with sales of over Rs 4000 crore. The company, growing at a strong double-digit rate of nearly 12 percent, has cornered 3.2 percent of the domestic pharma market. Last year, the pharma retail market reported 10 percent growth – the rate nearly doubling year-on-year — buoyed by higher volumes and launch of new drugs. A Torrent spokesperson said the company would not comment on speculation regarding acquisitions and divestments. Torrent has a strong portfolio in chronic therapies, with a key presence in cardiac, cardio-vascular, gastro-intestinal, anti-diabetic, and pain therapies.