Simcere Pharma to increase stake in Jilin Boda to 90%

China's Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, which specializes in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% stake in Xiangao Investment Company, an investment company registered in China which, as its sole business, holds a 49% stake in Jilin Boda Pharmaceutical.

After the completion of this acquisition, Simcere will control a 90% stake in Boda, which it says is a fast-growing manufacturer of injectable stroke management medication. Simcere currently holds a 51% stake in Boda through an acquisition made in September 2007, for which it paid 111.0 million renminbi ($16.3 million at current exchange rates) in cash. This additional acquisition further demonstrates Simcere's progress in the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular medications, the company claims.

Simcere manufactures and sells antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, stroke management medication and vaccines. It concentrates its R&D efforts on the treatment of diseases with high incidence and/or mortality rates and for which there is a clear demand for more effective pharmacotherapy such as cancer, strokes, orthopedics and infectious diseases.

Simcere has introduced an anti-cancer medication Endu (a modified version of endostatin), a first-to-market medication Sinofuan (fluorouracil, sustained release) and first-to-market generics such as Bicun (edaravone injection) and Anxin (a biapenem injection).