Sanofi's Aventis Pharma unit reached a deal Wednesday to buy the branded nutrition pharmaceuticals business of Indian company Universal Medicare for an undisclosed amount. Antoine Ortoli, senior vice president of Sanofi's intercontinental region, noted that "India is one of our most important markets in the emerging world."

Under the agreed terms, Aventis Pharma will purchase Universal Medicare's local marketing and distribution business, which includes more than 40 branded products. Aventis Pharma will source the products from Universal Medicare, which will manufacture them.

The deal is expected to close by the fourth quarter and will see around 750 employees of Universal Medicare move to Aventis Pharma.

The transaction will allow Sanofi to provide a "broad offering comprising of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and now nutraceuticals," Aventis managing director Shailesh Ayyangar said.

An unnamed analyst remarked that "this is a very good move by Aventis Pharma as the over-the-counter pharma market is growing at a fast rate of about 20 percent in India." The analyst added that profit margins for over-the-counter products are between three and four percentage points higher than for generic prescription drugs.


(Ref: CNBC, Bloomberg, MarketWatch)