Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA (GPSA), a wholly owned Swiss subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (India) has acquired Bouwer Bartlett Pty. Ltd., a South African sales and marketing company, for an undisclosed consideration.

With a major presence in the dermatology segment and a significant marketing force, Bouwer Bartlett will facilitate Glenmark's expansion in the South African market. The company currently has a basket of 22 products. Glenmark expects the South African operations to close at USD 3.1 million with an EBITDA of USD 6, 00,000 in the year 2006, states the company release.

Glenn Saldanha, managing director and CEO, Glenmark, remarked, "The purchase of Bouwer Bartlett is part of our long-term strategy to emerge as a speciality company marketing novel drugs, by acquiring front-ends in key markets outside the US, the EU and Japan."

Glenmark's solid dosage formulations plant in Goa, India was recently inspected by and received cGMP approval from the Medicine Control Council, South Africa. This approval will assist the company to rapidly file additional generics and add to the pipeline in South Africa.

Glenmark already enjoys a widespread geographic presence in over 30 of the 54 markets in Africa. The company also recently established a representative office in South Africa in 2003, in addition to its three other offices in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited is a global, fully integrated, research-based pharmaceutical company. The company has generic formulations and API business interests in over 70 countries across the world including the highly regulated markets of the US and Europe. The formulation business spans several product segments such as dermatology, internal medicine, paediatrics, gynaecology, ENT and diabetes.