Glenmark Pharma's South African subsidiary Bouwer-Bartlett (Pty) Ltd (Bouwer-Bartlett) acquired 7 products and 11 presentations from P D Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd (PD Pharma) for an undisclosed amount. The brands collectively are expected to garner sales of USD 2-3 million in FY 2007.

Bouwer-Bartlett has obtained global intellectual property (IP) rights for the products and will initially market the products within South Africa with a view to gradually sell them in other geographics. The acquired basket comprises anti-diarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, expectorant, anti-protozoal, anti-acid and multi-vitamin products.

Glenn Saldanha, managing director & CEO, said, "Our purchase of the seven products from PD Pharma follows our acquisition of Bouwer-Bartlett, a sales and marketing company in South Africa last year. This move supports our strategy of emerging as a speciality/brand company marketing novel drugs in the African continent. Glenmark is already present in over 30 of the 54 markets in Africa and this pipeline will help strengthen our presence in the region."

South Africa is one the largest and fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in the continent of Africa and the Company has established a subsidiary in the country. The company also has a subsidiary in Nigeria and representative offices in Ghana and Kenya. The company acquired Bouwer-Bartlett (Pty) Ltd in December 2005 and added the sales and marketing entity's 22 products to its product basket.

The company's solid dosage formulations plant in Goa was inspected by and received cGMP approval from the Medicine Control Council, South Africa in FY 2006. This approval will assist the company to rapidly file additional generics and add to the pipeline in South Africa.