Hikma takes stake in Indian pharma company Unimark Remedies

Jordan-headquartered generic drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK) revealed on Friday that it has agreed to acquire a minority interest - thought to be less than 25% - in Unimark Remedies through the subscription of new equity for a cash consideration of $33.3 million.

Unimark, a privately held company, is one of India’s leading manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients and API intermediates. Unimark’s broad product range includes betalactams, cephalosporins, carbapenems and covers a number of therapeutic segments including cardiovascular, anti‐asthma and anti‐infectives. Unimark operates three API facilities, two of which are US Food and Drug Administration approved, and two R&D centers, all of which are in India.

Commenting on the transaction, Said Darwazah, chief executive of Hikma, said: “Through this strategic partnership, Hikma and Unimark will collaborate on the development of strategic APIs and ANDAs. Unimark’s strong technical and R&D capabilities will complement Hikma’s in‐house R&D efforts and are expected to enable Hikma to bring more products in more therapeutic categories to market globally. Unimark has an excellent reputation for quality and we look forward to working with their experienced management and operational teams.”