Drugmaker Baxter International is acquiring Claris Injectables, an India-based firm that makes generic injectable medicines.
The Deerfield, Ill.-based company paid $625 million for the injectables manufacturer, which is a subsidiary of Claris Lifesciences. The company has 11 molecular products currently approved in the U.S., and its product offerings include injectable drugs used in anesthesia and analgesics, anti-infectives, renal drugs and medicines used in critical care.
Baxter CEO Jose Almeida said in a statement that the acquisition will help Baxter strengthen its sales to hospitals. "The capabilities we gain with Claris Injectables will augment and complement our differentiated technologies, expertise and extensive presence in the hospital channel to create a pathway for Baxter to become a global leader in generic injectables,” he said.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017 and be modestly accretive to Baxter's earnings next year and increasingly accretive thereafter. The Claris acquisition adds to Baxter's existing injectable offerings in anti-infective, analgesic and critical care, in addition to its production of hard-to-make oncology injectables.
Sterile injectable drugs make up some of the nation's most persistent drug shortages because their difficult manufacturing process makes them prone to safety issues regarding sterility, contamination or crystallization, among other problems. Experts have warned that consolidation among drugmakers can mean pharmacists have fewer options when a drugmaker suffers a shortage, especially if the drugmakers happen to be outsourcing their manufacturing to the same firm, as sometimes is the case.
Claris is on track to report over $100 million in revenue in 2016, and has seen double-digit revenue growth annually over the last several years thanks to new product launches and geographic expansion, according to a release. The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
